Hawthorne vacates road section to church

Hawthorne’s First United Methodist Church’s plans for expansion will no longer be on hold. The Hawthorne Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to vacate the city-owned road section that was dividing the church’s property and putting the breaks on its plans for expansion.

The road section the city is vacating is a 395-foot stretch of S.E. 66th Avenue that runs from 218th Terrace to 219th Terrace.

Traffic will still be able to pass through on the road, as mandated by the ordinance, but it will be owned by the church. The church intends to not only build on either side of the road, but will be incorporating it into the parking lot.  

The increased parking is part of the church’s long-range expansion plans to build a multi-purpose family life center, new sanctuary and memorial garden.

The road was initially vacated by the city in October 2009, on the condition that no public utilities ran under the road. It was determined that no such utilities did run under the road, but the commission voted to reconsider the easement in February. It was then sent for approval to the Planning and Zoning Board in April and returned to the commission for first reading on May 18 and final reading on Tuesday.