The Aurora City Council is set to vote Tuesday night on two conditional uses, one for a new church and one for a family-friendly arcade, both on the city’s East Side.
Aldermen already have recommended a conditional use planned development for a new church at 2020 Church Road. They also recommended a conditional use for a recreational purpose for the arcade planned for a 17,000-square-foot building at 4304 E. New York St., in the Pacifica Square mall.
Both items were placed on the consent agenda for Tuesday’s City Council meeting, meaning they are likely to be approved.
For the Church Road property, the conditional use would give zoning for religious purposes so the Christ Pentecostal International Church can build a church on vacant land next to an existing house, which would become the church’s parsonage.
The church has a contract to buy the land from another church, but needs zoning in place for religious use before making the purchase.
While such a conditional use is usually accompanied by specific plans for the development, that will come later because the church does not yet own the land.
The property was first purchased for a church in 2004 by Living Stones Christian Church. While the city intended to rezone the property then for a church, it never did.
Before moving ahead, Living Stones went into a former furniture store along Lake Street in Aurora, where it still is located today, but it has retained ownership of the land on Church Road all this time.
Christ Pentecostal wants to buy the land and build a church there.
The Rev. Gideon Agbo, of the Christ Pentecostal church, has said he intends to use a house that is already on the property as a parsonage.
As far as the recreational facility on the far East Side, it is planned for an existing building in the Pacifica Square shopping mall, and would include two themed party rooms, two other party rooms, a dance area, an arcade, pool tables, a gift shop and a small restaurant. It also would include displays people could use to take photos in front of without buying anything.
The displays would include a spinning cube that plays music with lights where people can take photos.