By DAVE HAMRICK
dhamrick@thecitizennews.com

Fayette Baptist Church leaders aren't sure what the next step is now that the Fayette County Commission has denied a rezoning request to allow their building project on Seay Road.

A new home for Fayette Baptist would have been the fourth church in the immediate vicinity, but the commission has denied the church's rezoning request for 5.2 acres that would have been part of a larger parcel for a new church and school facilities.

The church had asked that the land's zoning be changed from R-40, a subdivision category, to A-R, agricultural-residential.

The denial “has certainly put a monkey wrench in what we're trying to do,” said church pastor Larry Spencer.

What the church is trying to do, he told commissioners last week, is enlarge and improve its ministry.

The proposed new site would provide plenty of space for the church, the school and athletic fields, he said.

The church was established in 1972, and the school operation was added in 1974. Its current facilities are on Longview Road, off Kenwood Road north of Fayetteville.

In answer to a question from commissioners, Spencer wasn't sure whether the church would have enough property to build on without the 5.2 acres. The land was to have been added to a larger tract that is already zoned A-R. Either zoning would allow a church, but in order to make a single building site out of the properties, both would have to have the same zoning.

Residents who live near the site said they didn't object to a church being built there, but Fayette Baptist's plan for a church school with current enrollment of 344 would be too much for roads in the area to handle, said Robert McElroy.

Commissioner Linda Wells agreed. “I think the impact is just going to be too burdensome on the community,” she said.

Spencer argued that the school is simply a ministry of the church to its community, but McElroy said that with an average attendance of 70 in church and a student body of 344 at the school, the church is actually incidental to the school, not the other way around.

The proposed site is near the intersection of Seay Road with Harp Road, which also is a stone's throw from the Antioch Road/Ga. Highway 92 intersection, an already congested confluence of roads, said Commissioner Greg Dunn.

Commissioner Herb Frady voted against the motion to deny the church's request, saying, “I support the church, and I support the schools, and I think we need more of them.”

Spencer said this week the church is seeking advice about how to proceed.

In other zoning action last week, the commission:

Approved James and Abner Oakley's request for rezoning to allow two home sites on 4.2 acres on New Hope Circle.

Approved Julie and Danny Beck's request for a change in their home's conditional zoning to allow for a pool. The home is on Olde Oak Drive.

The land is zoned for one-acre lots, but a required 80-foot buffer with adjoining five-acre lots made building a pool impossible..