By MONROE ROARK
Staff Writer

After two hours of discussion concerning perhaps the most ambitious project ever undertaken by a church in Peachtree City, it seemed appropriate that Planning Commission Chairman Julian Campbell used a Biblical term when summing up the entire issue.

“The matter of how the city defines a church probably will have to be resurrected,” he said after he and his associates voted to approve a conceptual site plan for the Peachtree City United Methodist Church's proposed 63-acre campus on Robinson Road.

Whether the idea of restrictions on church locations in the city will be raised from the dead remains to be seen. Under current ordinances, a church in Peachtree City is considered a conditional use and can be placed in any zoning category. This site is in an area zoned Estate Residential.

Many churches in the area would probably be happy to have a Sunday morning crowd as large as the UMC contingent that showed up for Monday night's Planning Commission meeting.

A packed house of about 200 people heard the site plan request, with the majority of them being churchgoers, as evident by their name tags and logos on their shirts. Members of the church's youth group sat on the floor near the center of the room, while adults lined the walls of the commission chambers and stood in the hallway outside.

Those in opposition to the plan, mainly residents in the immediate area, were relatively few in number but made the most of their opportunity to present their case.

There were three other items on the agenda, one of which was withdrawn before the meeting. The remaining two were brief, so Campbell reversed the agenda and heard the church's request last.

Campbell also announced that, although it was not officially a public hearing on the matter, he would treat it as such and give both sides ample opportunity to speak.

The church's architect began his presentation by making it clear that each phase of the development, if approved, would take three years or so to complete, so a complex resembling the completed plan would take many years to come to fruition.

The plan was presented in five phases, beginning with a two-story multipurpose building and a small amount of parking with a single entrance from Robinson Road. The second phase includes an outdoor chapel, which the architect had misidentified as an “amphitheater” at the previous Planning Commission meeting, suggesting events that would never be there.

Also in phase two are wings at each end of the original building, adding about 30,000 square feet to the 50,000 square feet initially there. A smaller, formal chapel would be built in the third phase, with a fellowship hall in the basement.

The 66,000-sq. ft. main sanctuary, with a seating capacity of 1,800, would be constructed in phase four.

Athletic fields are planned for the rear of the property, and some concern had been raised about the possibility of outdoor lighting in that area. Henry Stone, chairman of the church's building committee, said that lights had not even been discussed by the church, and such an item would be brought before the city for approval at the appropriate time, probably years down the road in one of the last phases.

The church pointed out that the site plan requires no changes in any current city requirements, and city approval would be sought at each step.

Jim Williams, the city's director of developmental services, presented the city staff recommendations concerning the project, stating that city planner David Rast had felt awkward dealing with the issue at the last meeting. Rast is a member of the church.

Williams said he would not even get into the question of whether the church should be situated in a residential area, “because that decision's already been made.” Williams presented a plan a few years ago for restricting church sites to certain zoning categories such as commercial, but it was not approved by the city.

His recommendation for this plan was very positive. He said that the first phase was especially good, and the entire development, if handled properly, could be as appealing to the city as the Aberdeen Woods Conference Center, which he said was originally planned with some opposition and is now what he considered as good a development as can be found in Peachtree City.

Williams pointed out that if a few major issues — such as designated open space in the areas not slated for development, and the possibility of outdoor lighting — can be addressed at the beginning, the plan could be one “we can all be proud of and all live with.”

One citizen, who did not identify himself as being connected with the church, said he was in favor of the plan because it takes 63 acres of potential residential property off the books.

But an opponent who spoke later in the meeting noted that, with the property zoned for three-acre lots, the entire tract would have only about 20 homes on it anyway.

The vice president of the Robinson Woods homeowners association said that he was late for the meeting because he could not get out of his subdivision. He added that the church development would make an already bad traffic situation even worse, and residents would be prisoners in their own subdivision.

Randy Huff, another nearby resident, said that while the church undoubtedly performs a great service for the community, it is trying to do so on a scale that would “trample” the property rights of neighboring residents.

Huff told the Planning Commission that he had been advised by legal counsel concerning the proposal, and if it were approved, it would be a violation of residents' constitutional rights as well as city ordinances.

Barry Bilder, who said that he and other opponents to the development have been portrayed as “heretical Philistines,” claimed that he has trouble traveling to his own church on Sunday because of traffic problems that already exist.

Noting that Speer Road residents do not have access to city water and sewer even though they pay city taxes, Bilder said that the area's “fragile percolation” system would certainly be disrupted by a development on this scale. He added that one family's kitchen sits just 20 feet from the property line.

Bilder frequently called upon the church and the Planning Commission to show “sensitivity and compassion,” and said that there was a “moral and ethical responsibility” to serve everyone's best interests.

Commission member Willis Granger pointed out, for the benefit of those opposed, that several other uses are legally permitted at that site, such as a riding stables, a nursery, a school or a day care center.

The commission added one stipulation to the 10 previously listed by city staff at the June 28 meeting, designating the approximately 25 acres not planned for development as permanent open space. Church officials did not agree with that requirement, but they acknowledged that they will have an opportunity to petition the City Council to change it.

Commission member Wes Saunders cast the only dissenting vote, saying that he simply could not approve the project based on its size and scale.

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