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Jacksonville OKs permit for church By MELISSA MARTIN JACKSONVILLE - The City Council Tuesday approved First Presbyterian's plans to build a sanctuary in a 40-home subdivision that doesn't want it because of concerns about traffic, noise and lights. The Jacksonville City Council's 5-2 vote overturned last year's denial of the same project. "I feel the applicant meets all the (land use) criteria," said council member Jerry Mathern. The approval comes with 14 conditions, including the requirement that church members ride shuttle buses from the old church parking lot on California Street to the new building to reduce the number of cars coming in and out of the Pheasant Meadows Subdivision. The council did not set hours of operation or prohibit weddings or funerals, conditions attached last year when the council approved the permit, but soon reversed its decision following a public outcry that the conditions restricted freedom of worship. With two new members, the council earlier this year voted to hear the case again, which happened Tuesday during the public hearing held at Cascade Christian High School. "What we're approving here carte blanche is an activity that has no boundaries or limitations," said Bill Leep, who voted against the church plan Tuesday. "We're missing the essence of the conditional use permit." Mayor Jim Lewis also voted against the permit. "I don't feel you can have minimal adverse impact when you put a 150-car parking lot in a quiet neighborhood," Lewis said. It's likely the neighborhood group will appeal to the state Land Use Board of Appeals. A group of Pheasant Meadows residents declined to comment after the meeting. The Rev. Larry Jung said he was relieved and grateful about the vote that will allow his congregation to move toward its goal of building a 445-seat sanctuary on 10 acres it owns near the subdivision. Church members have already raised nearly $2 million for a new building. The church has outgrown its 120-year-old national historic landmark site near downtown and rents space at nearby Cascade Christian High School for one of its Sunday morning services. "I'm really grateful to God," Jung said after the meeting. "Overall, God has used this trial in the life of our church to help us grow spiritually. It's forced people on their knees to pray." Medford attorney Tonio Moro, who was hired by the neighborhood group called Friends of Jacksonville, asked the City Council Tuesday to dismiss the case. She said the church proposal violated the city's intent to preserve the vacant 10 acres near the subdivision for two homes on five-acre parcels as a buffer between the pear orchard and the town. The City Council voted to dismiss Moro's motion. "It's the size of this church that's the problem," Moro told the council. "Nobody says a Jacksonville neighborhood can't accommodate a church. It's the church of this size in this neighborhood that creates the problem." Craig Stone, a Medford planner hired by the church, disagreed and told the council, "If you allow this to be built, I think in years to come, we'll look back and wonder what the commotion was all about. The church is a good neighbor and has a history of being a good neighbor." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.