Church request denied

Valerie Miller

Friday, May 15, 1998 | 2:24 a.m.

Residents of the River Mountain planning area came out in full force again Thursday night at the Henderson Planning Commission meeting to oppose a building in their community, but this time it wasn't a hotel or a truck stop they were fighting -- it was a church.

The Planning Commission voted 6-1 to deny a building request by the First Missionary Baptist Church -- along with its 52-foot steeple -- based on incompatibility with the surrounding neighborhood.

About 50 residents came to the meeting armed with a petition bearing 400 signatures of neighbors protesting the church planned for 2230 Appaloosa Road.

"Our neighborhood is sort of unique," explained Gary Hood, president of the River Mountain Homeowners Association. "We are zoned to have horses in a residential area. We have nothing against churches, but we want to keep our neighborhood the way it is."

Concerns raised by residents included traffic congestion problems caused by the planned 250-member congregation and the need for installing lights and sidewalks in the rustic area.

"We don't have anything against churches," echoed another resident Suzanne Savasted. "But we are living there (River Mountain) for a rural lifestyle and what it brings."

The 8,395 square-foot church was to be built on five acres.

The church's pastor and applicant, James Bennett, also is a resident of River Mountain. He said that he would work with his neighbors if the project was approved.

"I think that the church would be an asset to the community," Bennett said. "We could lower the steeple or build a wall around it. We just want to be part of the community."

Commissioners said that it was a difficult decision to recommend denial because the proposed project was a church.

"I definitely believe that churches belong in neighborhoods, but we have to balance that," Commissioner George Bochanis said. "This is a unique neighborhood that needs to be preserved."