County Zoning Administrator Judy Freeman, calling the building a multi-sectional manufactured home, said if the proposal is turned down the 14-member church will use it as a rental home, which is acceptable in that location, according to what morningsun tells MHProNews.
Liberty’s pastor, Sandy Stallings, noting it is a modular building that had been used as a school classroom, said, “It’ll just be a home if it’s not a church. We sold a really big building we didn’t need. We never dreamed it’d be this much trouble to bring a little country church in a little country building. We didn’t want to cause any trouble. We just want to build a church and worship God, just like any other church.”
Petitioners protested that it might lead to speeding traffic on the road, which could be a potential safety concern, and that if the church did not grow there would be an empty building in the neighborhood that would affect property values.
Attorney Steve Stockard, representing Stallings, said the church meets twice on Sunday and once on Wednesday, and would not likely generate any more traffic than a residence with teen drivers. As for safety concerns, Stockard said if the road is so dangerous then why has the commission allowed homes to be built there.
In addition, he suggested the commissioners might be infringing on religious freedom, and that the county must have a compelling governmental interest to deny the request. In the end the three commissioners voted against the proposal, saying the building did not fit in with the neighborhood. ##
(Photo credit: buildingpro–modular church)
