SACO — The city of Saco and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Saco and Biddeford have agreed to a lease that will allow the church to build a parking lot next to the house of worship on the edge of Pepperell Park.

City officials invited church leaders in 1825 to build a place of worship on city land. The meeting house was completed on the southern end of Pepperell Park in 1827, and it still stands there today on School Street, having undergone a couple of expansions over the years.

Church officials have future plans for a 16-space parking lot next to the church, and came to the city earlier this year to determine who owned the land the church was on and how much land the church was able to use.

City officials, after researching the situation, determined the city owns the land the church sits on, though the boundaries of the property the city has allowed the church to use are unclear in lease documents from the 1800s.

Councilor Eric Cote, who is also an attorney, drafted a lease agreement with the church that defines specific boundaries and allows the church to build a parking lot, subject to the city’s land use regulations. Under the terms of the lease, the church must allow those attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings at the nearby Oasis Club to use the parking lot.

Under the terms of the renewable, five-year lease agreement, the church will pay the city $100 a year.

The City Council voted 4-3 to approve the lease, with councilors Alan Minthorn, William Doyle and Nathan Johnston in opposition.

Johnston said he was “fully supportive” of the church lease, but thought that creating a parking lot would be a detriment to the public green space and thought the city should explore other options such as leasing out other city land nearby.

 — Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.