The revised site plan of the Northside Church proposal shows the bigger parking lot on the south side of Powers Avenue.
Northside Christian Church has submitted a revised site plan with a bigger parking lot for its proposed campus on Powers Avenue in North Albany, outside the Albany city limits.
The revised plan acknowledges that the church’s proposed worship and multi-purpose building has 28,557 square feet of gross floor area, not 18,902 square feet as previous submittals said. The earlier figure did not include the proposed partial second floor.
The building is to have seating for about 500 people, and the congregation plans to have two services on Sunday mornings.
Because of the larger square footage, to comply with the county development code the revised plan increases the project’s parking lot to 286 spaces, up from 189 spaces as previously proposed.
Northside Church submitted the revisions on Tuesday as part of its rebuttal of testimony against the proposal at an Aug. 4 public hearing before the Benton County Board of Commissioners.
The commissioners are deciding on the church’s application for a conditional use permit to build its complex at 4500 Powers. Ave. NW.
Now the opponents, mainly people living along Powers Avenue and Northwest Scenic and Oak Grove drives, have seven days to file their reactions, if any, to the church’s rebuttal. Then Northside will have seven more days for any final arguments before the county board makes its decision.
The rebuttal takes note of the fact that the church had originally sought a permit for a bigger development:
“The current proposal was previously referred to in the application materials as ‘Phase I.’ The revised site plan identifies the 3,700-square-foot playground as part of the current proposal. Earlier site plans identified a larger community playground, pickleball courts, the future main church building, and other improvements as Phase II. Those previously contemplated additional improvements are not part of the current approval request and would require separate land use review if pursued in the future.”
As part of its current plan, the church says it is willing to widen Powers Avenue to 24 feet with 2-foot aggregate shoulders from Scenic Drive to 50 feet west of its western property line. It also offered to build an 8-foot-wide shared-use path along the widened road if it is given the necessary easement or right of way.
The church’s rebuttal is 89 pages long. It includes detailed traffic counts and data intended to show that the county roads in the area can handle the additional church traffic. You can read the whole thing here. (hh)
A sign on Powers Avenue, near the site where a church building and parking lot are being proposed.
Reminds me of the housing “complex” being built on Gibson Hill. Get approval for one thing and then turn around and build something completely different. The old “slight of hand” maneuver politicians are so good at.
This proposal gets bigger and bigger.
No accountability to the people that have lived there for so many years. A quiet rural area that needs to stay that way. Why do they need a conditional use permit?? Because it’s not zoned for anything like this.
This is a selfish land grab and they need to let it go!!!!
Living there for many years should it give you control over property that someone else bought and paid for. You are not the only one with rights.
Looks like they’re building a parking lot with n incidental church next to it
So much pavement…I am looking at one of the newest comparable churches included in the Aug 11 evidence submitted by NS…came out to look at the site and more traffic and shoulders or wider road with a bike lane and dirches. They have trees for landscaping and a housing complex across the street… so much pavement. Not a small rural country church. NS campus would be larger and a worse fit for our quiet neighborhood.
If this would be built in Europe, the church would melt into the landscape as a unified part. Here we have a huge parking lot for a building.
Its ironic that there is a much more appropriate site for what they want to do, that has been owned by a church for more than a decade.
Tween Bonaventure and North Albany rd. It would very likely be more centrally located for members ,has adequate roads, access to water and sewer, and it even has a bus stop within walking distance.
I wonder if Northside has ever even thought of it or approached the church that has had it for a longtime and doesn’t seem likely to do anything with it.
Or the old Toms garden center property and the lot behind it, they’re for sale, and more appropriate.
Its not the church but the county that requires the parking lot. A gravel parking lot would probably be fine with the church. Many churches have them. Put the blame where it belongs.
Also, bare in mind that any development of houses there will probably also involve streets and roads to get through the neighborhood. So most likely more tarmac in the long run as well as daily traffic. Wouldn’t be surprised if the Church sells off all of the trees and the barn before selling to a developer. Capitalizing on their sale.
You’re correct, the county does require it. They also require the road improvements. Lots of things that they don’t want to pay for. They want their private country club, tax-free mind you. Look how much money they’ve already spent, and are afraid to spend more! All the more reason it all should be denied!
Paved or gravel or bricked or glittering with gold, it’s still a massive parking lot b/c the church wants to seat 500 people.
“They paved paradise / And put up a parking lot”
Who owns the fence that sign is on, if it is owned by the Church the sign placers are trespassing, which begs the question of who has what attitude where property rights are concerned.
No, the sign was not on the church-owned poperty.
Then there I go again tilting at windmills.
The church has more money & lawyers than i thought possible…they’ll ram this thru yet..
While that may be true, if they’re following the law, I have no problem with it…
If they were following the law, they would be building a single home on at least two acres. The church is asking for variances and other exceptions from following the law. Most, if not all the grass field in the proposal will have to go to being part of a very large septic system able to handle at least 500 people two or three times a week, Sunday’s, Wednesday’s, and the days when they want to have other than church service activities; that calls for a very large variance. And what are the plans for dealing with the obvious wetlands issues? Oh, another variance? Probably. If this was an industrial plan DLCD would have a microscope going over the site and their plans and no would be the answer.
Maybe they can ask for a change in the zoning; change to light industrial/small business zoning, for that is what they are asking for anyway.
My kiddos looked it up and there are 44 churches in Albany. Why do we need more? Churches, nonprofits, weed shops, sports bars, storage facilities and restaurants are not a strong economy. All these new constructions are dead-end once completed. No good jobs, no money to support any of them. All the city’s “flash in the pan” projects have weakened and worn out the people trying to eke out a living here. Please give people something to work with rather than making them choke down these useless plans. Build a community worth their all their hard-earned efforts.
All those things you describe are what a bedroom community has which is exactly what Albany is. People live here and work elsewhere.
Albany is a bedroom community even for the people that work here. People spend their money and time elsewhere too. No community here that is welcoming or any feeling of goodwill. If you don’t have an excess of wealth or have some tragic behavior to get non profit funding, no one cares where you live, how you live or if you will live. The city just picks your pockets accidently through your utilities when deemed necessary then expect you to not take it personally. Do you think having 1 more church will make a difference?