Palmetto will soon have a new church.

By a unanimous vote, the City Council rezoned an eight-acre tract Monday night to allow the J.S. Hammonds Missionary Baptist Church to build a sanctuary.

The new church is at the intersection of Fayetteville Road and Phillips Road. City planner Chris Venice said any churches must be on either arterial or collector roads.

Both roads are arterials and would provide enough parking for the church.

Venice added the rezoning request from C-1 (community commercial) and L-1 (limited use) to C3 (general commercial district conditional) is in keeping with the land use plan, which calls for commercial development on the site.

The planner said the church would not cause an excessive or burdensome use of any existing utilities or schools and recommended approving the petition.

In other news, the council approved a $50,000 contract between the city and the state Department of Human Resources to provide transportation for the city's senior citizens.

Last year, the transportation was provided by a private company that is no longer in business. The city's staff, including City Administrator Bill Shell recommended accepting the contract from DHR.