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Friday, March 29, 2024

Wrightsville Beach planning board delays vote on church pavilion for neighborhood meeting

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After a standing room only crowd of both supporters and opponents of a Wrightsville Beach church’s proposal to build an outdoor pavilion filled the town’s conference room, the planning board on Tuesday delayed a decision on the permit until next month and urged the developers and neighbors to meet.

Nearly 50 people filled the conference room for the public hearing on St. Therese Catholic Church’s permit application for the new facility. While about two-thirds raised their hands to support the church’s proposal, a handful of neighbors spoke in opposition to the plan.

John Sawyer, the project architect, said he was surprised by the opposition. The board members raised their concerns and urged the developers and church leaders to meet with neighbors to reach a solution, an offer the church accepted.

The planning board held the public hearing to consider a conditional use permit at St. Therese Catholic Church at 209 S. Lumina Ave. The permit would be for the building of assembly space that would include a 3,817 square foot multipurpose pavilion, providing 2,545 square feet open air, covered deck and 1,272 square feet of conditioned support space. The assembly space would be located behind the church’s sanctuary.

Neighbors concerns focused on noise, parking, lighting and the size of the proposed structure.

Board members asked how the church would use the facility, specifically asking about weddings, which church members could be accommodated at the pavilion. Sawyer said it would primarily be used for educational classes and other events.

But Rick Crowder, a neighbor across South Lumina Avenue, said that he didn’t believe the church was being upfront about the intended uses.

The project’s developer said the pavilion would be used to replace an event tent that the church uses on some occasions. But Crowder contended that those occasions were often to handle overflow attendance at the church’s services, which are amplified with speakers that broadcast into the surrounding neighborhood.

“It doesn’t seem to solve a problem more than it creates a new one,” Crowder said. “The church has been so successful that it has outgrown the facility.”

Rick Crowder, a neighbor of St. Therese Catholic Church, displays a mock of what he believed a new building on the grounds would look like. Staff photo by Terry Lane.

Crowder, who said he spoke for a handful of neighbors in the area, also produced two visual representations of what he said was understood as the size of the building, which overshadowed the church’s sanctuary.

“The height and massiveness is startling to me,” Crowder said.

However, Sawyer disputed that depiction, arguing that the perspective of the images was wrong, making the pavilion appear larger than its design.

One neighbor, Bill Walsh, said that proposed addition wasn’t appropriate for the neighborhood. Another neighbor, Ken Lloyd, said the noise from gatherings gave the neighborhood the “flavor of a commercial district.”

“The church fits the character of the neighborhood. This addition is out of character,” Walsh said.

Board member Zeke Partin said that she was surprised by the size of the project, though another member Susan Snider said it wasn’t as large as houses that could be built on that lot.

Board vice chairman Jim Smith said that the neighbors deserved a more detailed answer on the purpose of the pavilion.

Sawyer said there would be some room to negotiate with neighbors, but that the church would ultimately seek some form of upgrade to the property, regardless of whether neighbors were

“Architecturally, we’re flexible, but if the neighbors want it to stay the same, you might as well vote now,” Sawyer told the board.

The board voted to keep the public hearing open until the June 6, 2017 meeting, where the church can submit any updates to the proposal.

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