Here’s where Northside Christian Church plans to build a gymnasium to serve as worship space and a parking lot for 189 cars.
Ahead of a May 5 meeting of the Benton County Planning Commission, the county has published new materials concerning the application by Northside Christian Church to build its church in a 19-acre field on Powers Avenue in rural North Albany.
The church has scaled back its request for a conditional use permit but objects to a condition that it provide for widening all of NW Powers.
Its original request, heard by the planning commission in March, covered a two-phase development of an 18,902-square-foot gymnasium and a 54,709-square-foot main sanctuary. Now it is asking for only the first phase, the gym (to be used for worship services), plus a storage building and a parking lot of 189 spaces.
The county planning staff has recommended approval with conditions, including that Northside pay for widening all of Powers Avenue from Oak Grove Drive to Scenic Drive. This is to accommodate the additional church traffic without endangering pedestrians and cyclists who customarily use the road.
The two-lane road is 3,646 feet long. There are no shoulders.
Northside objects to the road requirement, saying it is not justified and would involve all kinds of costly complications such as acquiring right-of-way from unwilling property owners.
The church also objects to having to make road improvements in front of its property at 4500 Powers, saying it is merely willing to dedicate a 5-foot-wide strip as public right-of-way.
If the planning commission wants to approve the conditional use permit requested by Northside, the commission also will have to decide whether to impose the road-widening requirement recommended by the county staff.
The agenda packet released for the May 5 meeting in Corvallis, posted Wednesday on the planning commission website, includes many additional letters from opponents and supporters of the church’s request. The material can be accessed here.
The packet is 103 pages long. It takes a while to read, but the planning commissioners will no doubt read it all. (hh)
This is NW Powers Avenue on a rainy day, April 12, 2026.
Cyclists (and those walking) have a hard time already with the narrow road and with more traffic, so this part of the road should be widened, that should not be a problem, I would think…. Safety first, money second.
I doubt a road has needs to be widened for a church building that most likely wouldn’t be utilized every day or night by its suspected timely gatherings. I’m guessing the county truly doesn’t want to spend their own road budget monies if they can squeeze certain groups. They sure let a lot of other building proceed by developments that are filled with many daily trips without all the road widening. Correct me if you must but traversing thru North Albany can be a mess daily. Thank you
You have no idea what you’re talking about. They intend to run a daycare, etc. out of this place.
They’re actually planning to build a church over 200 parking spaces, a school, a daycare, a gym.
In the past, I helped with investigating new church buildings, or expansions of existing church buildings at churches I attended and I can say that churches seem to follow the corporate philosophy “if you aren’t growing, you’re dying.” No matter what the church has stated about there being a mischaracterization of the “mega church” label – the intention is to GROW – more services, bible studies, womens/mens events, holiday events, meetings, preschool/daycare, and congregants (to tithe – so it can keep growing) – so there is no doubt that the traffic on these roads to/from the church would only get worse over the coming years. The gymnasium is just phase 1, right? Of the churches I attended in the community over my lifetime, I can tell you that those buildings are in use virtually every day. Maybe not to the degree they are on a Sunday morning, but it will continue to expand – it must to justify the building and mortgage.
As a resident in the area who walks, bikes, runs daily on these roads, I can attest that there is already a traffic problem. Cars on Scenic going 55+ (deer central), wide-load trailers taking trash to the dump, the never ending construction dump trucks, farm tractors, souped-up racers seeing if they can catch air on our little hills out here. We simply cannot accomodate so much more. I now avoid walking down Powers, Oak Grove, Palestine as it’s too unsafe with no shoulder. Scenic isn’t much better (I had to jump in a ditch on Scenic one time to avoid a pickup that still had it’s trailer mirrors extended. FYI: those are very deep ditches, good luck getting out). I know a number of people who now drive down to other neighborhoods with sidewalks because it’s getting unsafe to walk in the Fir Grove area.
Also, i have noticed that when they put housing developments in North Albany (Gibson Hill, Crocker, Scenic, etc) it seemed they made road improvements for those projects. I don’t know who paid for it, but with the additional traffic that it incurred due to new residents, sidewalks, culverts, storm drain improvements, were added as needed for the expanding community. Curious what developments you saw in NA that were not accompanied by road improvements…?
I don’t have a dog in this fight, but it is an interesting debate. Who should pay for improvements that benefits only one party (the church and its members, in this case)? The general public which did not ask for the project or the required road widening? Or the church members who are the primary beneficiaries? I know from years of property ownership that when there is a public improvement on my property (or in front of it), there will be a special assessment to pay for it, prorated to the value of my property. I am not sure why there is any debate about this, just because it is a church.
Personal opinion: I don’t think that property owners should ever have to pay. The church will not own the road, control the road, be the only one to use the road, or the only party to benefit from the road.
But they are the one’s asking for a use outside of the zoning, so yes, they should.
I know it’s your “church “and you’re opinion is swayed though
It seems they care nothing about the impact and safety of the community they will be greatly impacting. Did they think they could just waltz in and do whatever they please with no accountability or responsibility? Seems they care nothing about the people they are impacting; this whole operation does not seem very Christian or Christ-like to me.
As I’ve indicated before, I spent many hours going down one rabbit hole after another trying to find out more about this organization and their history. I did trace them to some Texas roots and prison ministry, but very vague as best. I do not feel good about this.
Ditto and double ditto to what Lynn M wrote. I traced them to Texas, too, but, when Hasso first wrote about this, some of Hasso’s blog commenters poo-poo’d the thought that their origins are from the South. I had trouble finding out anything about the church, too.
I have been affiliated with Northside Church from it’s beginning. Their roots are in North Albany, not Texas, or a prison ministry. Your “facts” are in error.
And yet, you provide no factual evidence to support your claim. Please provide the details…
Well what are the “facts” then?
I don’t know much about the history of Northside, but in the public comment from Suburban Church in Corvallis, their pastor claims that they are the “Founding Church of Northside.” So their roots did not start in North Albany – your facts aren’t accurate.
Agreed! These church supporters need to stop with the “churches are good for the community” if they don’t even believe they should contribute to improving safety for the residents of the area – safety that wasn’t in question until the church decided they wanted to build there. Why would the church think they have a better understanding of the safety needs of the community than the county and its residence do?
I’m pro church. They are great neighbors and they generally work well with their communities.
I think it will be interesting to see what happens if the church isn’t built. Ask anyone off of Crocker lane- developers never really improve the roads. Will the church harvest the trees before selling? Will 10- 2acre future homes require paved surface road(s) for access to the properties? I’m pretty sure the large homes, barns and outbuildings will cover more surface area than a gym and parking lot. Will all the neighbors have to drill deeper wells if new wells and 10 homes water needs from landscape to laundry every day of the week dry up the neighborhood water shed (that a 2-3 day a week church would barely touch). Stepping back for a minute I wonder if it’s possible that the church might be the best option and residents don’t see it.
By contrast, I am pro green space. As someone who has lived in the area for 50 years, i can tell you that this is about the last green space out here. I can drive up and down these streets in my mind – their beauty, and changes, are burned into my mind. The remaining locations without housing are mostly farming. The remaining wooded lots in this area, are being de-forested (Scenic, Power, Palestine, Oak Grove, etc). I see this green space every day and half the time there is a doe and fawns eating and playing – sometime a fox or two. It is beautiful and natural. I believe that the beauty of nature was given to us to enjoy and be in awe of. I can’t fathom why someone would want to take one of the last spaces like that and put a 200 car parking lot and gym. If the church didn’t build on it – yes, there could be more residents, more homes. But not nearly as many cars. And homes *are* what we have out here. These are residential neighborhoods.
If a genie offered to grant me 2 wishes on this topic:
1. I’d ask for the county to purchase and manage that space as an ongoing green space for EVERYONE in North Albany.
2.I’d ask the genie to help the church find the right already-existing structure so that it is a good steward of it’s finances and can be a better light in the community by using an existing structure to keep the mortgage lower (or non-existent) and thus have money to actually help those in need in the Albany community.
FYI they would be on City water the same as the neighboring homes are
Another 22 million dollar road to knowhere & the church doesn’t pay property tax’s…glad
it’s another county…vote no on the tina tax..
Do you hate the tRump tax on gas as much?
In my opinion, a church, gymnasium, day care, parking lot have no business being built on the Powers Ave. property. The whole surrounding area is single family homes with acreage and that is the way it should remain. The above church and additional facilities belong closer to town and not in the middle of a residential area. In addition, that kind of building would replace an area that is now home to deer, fox, rabbits, raccoons and other wildlife that are being crowded out of their natural environment. Let the church find other property closer to town and more suitable to their endeavor.