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City cements denial of church Photo by Bob Pennell Jacksonville's Old City Hall was full Tuesday for a City Council vote on the fate of First Presbyterian Church's proposed new building. Congregation `heartbroken' after Jacksonville vote By MELISSA MARTIN JACKSONVILLE -- The City Council on Tuesday denied First Presbyterian Church a permit for a new building on Middle Street, which borders a subdivision. On a 4-3 vote, the council denied the application because the church failed to satisfy four of seven criteria that the city requires for conditional use permits, according to Resolution 772 signed by the City Council members. The action confirmed Thursday's vote to deny the permit. Here are the criteria that the church could not satisfy: Minimizing its impact on the 40 homes in nearby Pheasant Meadows Subdivision. Getting traffic in and out of the subdivision without disruption. Being compatible with Jacksonville's National Historic Landmark status. Lessening impact of the 18,000-square-foot building on the scenic landscape of Jacksonville. Council members John Dodero, Joyce Coleman, Bill Leep and Mayor Jim Lewis voted for the denial, while Dean Paddison, Donna Schatz and Doris Crofoot voted against it. "I want to give an explanation with my vote," Schatz said. "I have a petition here signed by almost half of the registered voters of Jacksonville asking us to take another look at this application." Schatz held up a petition circulated by Jacksonville resident and church member Mona Hartman. She collected 345 signatures and turned them in at City Hall on Tuesday. "It was significant that it is signed by members of the community that are not associated with the church in any way," Hartman said after the meeting. Although the wooden pews at Old City Hall were filled at the start of Tuesday's council meeting, most of the 70 audience members cleared out after the vote, which took only five minutes. "Our whole congregation is heartbroken," church building chairman Bruce Woolf told a television reporter outside the old brick building. "We met 20 of 23 conditions. I think we were so close (to meeting the city's criteria) and the church was willing to bend over backwards." The City Council in January approved the church's application with 23 conditions, including banning weddings and funerals, restricting hours and limiting the number of cars in the parking lot. Then last Thursday, the council reversed its decision and voted to uphold the Planning Commission's November denial of the application. On Tuesday, the council signed the order. Several Pheasant Meadows residents were in the audience Tuesday, including Ben Goldman, who stood outside the old brick city hall after the council vote and chatted with church members. "I came tonight to learn more about the church's concerns and what's going on," Goldman said. "My concern is the amount of traffic and how it would impact the area; my concern has nothing to do with the church or their religion." Goldman said he wouldn't object to houses being put on the 10 acres on Middle Street owned by the church because he differentiates between residential and church traffic. "Homes are different -- we have to have homes to live in," Goldman said. "But with a church, there would be a lot of people coming in and out for services several times a week and that would impact the area." Post-service traffic would be short and sweet, Woolf said, citing a traffic study by Hardey Engineers that showed Singler, D, Hueners and other streets are designed to handle neighborhood and church traffic combined. He favored a proposal to open Middle Street, which is currently blocked off. A locked gate could be installed and opened to move Sunday church traffic out Hueners Lane and avoid driving through Pheasant Meadows' narrow streets, Woolf said. The council's decision has drawn the interest of other Jacksonville churches. The vote raises questions for Father Liam Cary, priest at St. Joseph, founded in 1858, the year after First Presbyterian was started. "Will we make room for worship as our cities grow?" Cary asked. "Do we want to build communities that do not include space for people of faith to serve God and neighbor?" Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA