Wedding bells to ring at Royal Wedding Chapel
By Russ Oechslin Journal correspondent | Posted: Thursday, December 13, 2007
ROYAL, Iowa -- Wedding bells will soon be ringing at the Royal Wedding Chapel, even though the City Council unanimously passed a restricted zoning ordinance Wednesday night.
The passage was necessary, explained Mayor Pam Virelli, after the ordinance that was passed in 1996 was declared invalid by District Court Judge Don E. Courtney. His ruling came after a nearly two-year legal battle between wedding chapel owner Lee Youde and the city.
The ordinance, Courtney ruled, was "void and not enforceable because the city failed to hold a public hearing and publish notice as required by statute. The city admits that the public hearing and published notice did not happen."
While Youde and one other person spoke against the passage, Youde said he was pleased to learn that he would be "grandfathered" in along with the other 13 businesses located in residential areas of the community of about 500 in Clay County.
Youde brought the legal challenge after he purchased the former Trinity Lutheran Church for $12,500 in 2003, with plans to use it as a wedding chapel. Neighbors fought the business in a residential neighborhood -- especially objecting to the ringing of bells in the carillon. They kept the city from issuing a business permit, which was required by the stricken code.
Youde said he has recently been using the former church as a wedding chapel at no cost to several couples, because he was not able to charge for the facility.
Also speaking against the new ordinance before City Attorney Brad Howe of Spencer explained that all existing businesses would be allowed to continue (but not expand) in the residential area, Florence "Fluff" Ihry related attending church in Royal the Sunday after the last council meeting when Mayor Virelli said "neighbors need to get along. That's why we live in a nice little community like this."
Ihry explained that she recalled that "the gathering hymn was 'All are welcome,'" followed by "They will know we are Christian ...," and the call to worship was "My house is a house of worship for all people."
"The message was embracing diversity and binding us all together," Ihry continued. "How much of our message is reflected in our everyday lives?" she asked the council.
After the brief hearing and vote, council members also waived the second and third readings of the ordinance, in an effort to have it published and become legal before the end of the year.
Howe explained afterward that the ordinance really amounts to "short-form zoning," in a small town where finding people to serve on a zoning board and a board of adjustment is difficult.
He said the new ordinance covers the same residential area as the 1996 code, and told the council that while existing businesses are "grandfathered" the new law "will keep a slaughterhouse from opening next to someone's home."
Youde, who last month made a bid on another abandoned Lutheran church in Spencer, said Wednesday night he has not heard back from representatives of the First Lutheran Church, which moved to a new facility on the east edge of Spencer last spring.
The church and fellowship hall, which is situated just off Grand Avenue, near the Spencer Municipal Hospital, have been empty since the move.
Youde said last month he has made an offer of $360,000 -- the price it was appraised for about two years ago, when Walgreens was considering the property for a store that subsequently located two blocks south, across from the new Hy-Vee.
The passage was necessary, explained Mayor Pam Virelli, after the ordinance that was passed in 1996 was declared invalid by District Court Judge Don E. Courtney. His ruling came after a nearly two-year legal battle between wedding chapel owner Lee Youde and the city.
The ordinance, Courtney ruled, was "void and not enforceable because the city failed to hold a public hearing and publish notice as required by statute. The city admits that the public hearing and published notice did not happen."
While Youde and one other person spoke against the passage, Youde said he was pleased to learn that he would be "grandfathered" in along with the other 13 businesses located in residential areas of the community of about 500 in Clay County.
Youde brought the legal challenge after he purchased the former Trinity Lutheran Church for $12,500 in 2003, with plans to use it as a wedding chapel. Neighbors fought the business in a residential neighborhood -- especially objecting to the ringing of bells in the carillon. They kept the city from issuing a business permit, which was required by the stricken code.
Youde said he has recently been using the former church as a wedding chapel at no cost to several couples, because he was not able to charge for the facility.
Also speaking against the new ordinance before City Attorney Brad Howe of Spencer explained that all existing businesses would be allowed to continue (but not expand) in the residential area, Florence "Fluff" Ihry related attending church in Royal the Sunday after the last council meeting when Mayor Virelli said "neighbors need to get along. That's why we live in a nice little community like this."
Ihry explained that she recalled that "the gathering hymn was 'All are welcome,'" followed by "They will know we are Christian ...," and the call to worship was "My house is a house of worship for all people."
"The message was embracing diversity and binding us all together," Ihry continued. "How much of our message is reflected in our everyday lives?" she asked the council.
After the brief hearing and vote, council members also waived the second and third readings of the ordinance, in an effort to have it published and become legal before the end of the year.
Howe explained afterward that the ordinance really amounts to "short-form zoning," in a small town where finding people to serve on a zoning board and a board of adjustment is difficult.
He said the new ordinance covers the same residential area as the 1996 code, and told the council that while existing businesses are "grandfathered" the new law "will keep a slaughterhouse from opening next to someone's home."
Youde, who last month made a bid on another abandoned Lutheran church in Spencer, said Wednesday night he has not heard back from representatives of the First Lutheran Church, which moved to a new facility on the east edge of Spencer last spring.
The church and fellowship hall, which is situated just off Grand Avenue, near the Spencer Municipal Hospital, have been empty since the move.
Youde said last month he has made an offer of $360,000 -- the price it was appraised for about two years ago, when Walgreens was considering the property for a store that subsequently located two blocks south, across from the new Hy-Vee.
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