The Fort Dodge Board of Adjustment granted a special exception allowing the construction of a 3,469 square foot addition to the Prairie Lakes Church building at 200 Ave. O.

The addition will be on the south side, which is the front of the building, and will wrap around its west side. The addition will provide a new entryway, restrooms, an open gathering space and a reception area.

The board’s action was needed because the church property is zoned for single family residential use even though it is in a “very commercially oriented area,” according to Thomas Leichliter, a city planner.

He said the church property probably has that zoning designation because it is next to Iowa Central Community College and all the schools in town are in residential zones.

The board also granted permission for the church to put up two directional signs marking the entrances to its parking areas. But the board specified that the signs can only be three square feet and can only be three feet high.

In other business, the board gave its approval to one element of the upcoming major renovation of Fort Dodge Senior High School at 819 N. 25th St.

The board OK’d the proposed signs that will be on a new canopy over the front entrance.

The proposal calls for 51 square feet of signs on that canopy, including:

• An internally lighted sign that reads “Fort Dodge Senior High”

• An unlighted sign that reads “Main Entrance”

• The school district’s FD Dodgers script logo

No public comments were received on either the Prairie Lakes Church or senior high school proposals.