Zoning Committee to consider new Elevation Church location

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CHARLOTTE – A 1,600-seat  Elevation Church will rise on twenty-two acres at Lancaster Highway and Johnston Road, near the city’s southern tip, if a rezoning application is given final approval.

The church is asking for a change from MX-1, mixed use residential, to UR-2, urban residential, for property that now holds two single-family residences.

The proposed facility is a three-story, 264,000-square-foot religious institutional complex with two primary structures – a worship center and an office complex.

The worship building includes a children’s ministry.  The office building will accommodate up to 250 staff members and include a dining area, fitness center, and production and broadcast studios.

City planners back the rezoning even though it is inconsistent with the South District Plan.  Area plans serve as policy guides and to address development regarding future land use, transportation and other issues.  Planner Sonja Sanders told city council members at a public hearing June 17 that area plans usually do not specify locations for institutional uses and the proposed use is compatible with the surrounding residential and commercial development.

Provided they meet certain conditions, religious institutions are allowed in residential areas.

The rezoning request will be taken up by the Zoning Committee on June 26 and that committee will report to the City Council, which is expected to give its final decision July 15.

Although there were no objections at the hearing, residents in the area raised concerns at an informational meeting held in April.

They wanted to know about buffers, noise and traffic.

Church representatives promised a 75-foot buffer between the project and the Copper Ridge neighborhood. The church will be lower by 10 to 12 feet, they said, minimizing the impact of 25-foot-high light poles.

“Will you hear noise from the church on Sundays?” an area resident asked, according to a church report on neighbors’ comments. The response: “It will have insulated concrete walls.”

A low masonry wall will screen the parking, which will require a minimum of one space for every four seats. Residents were assured that Elevation Church takes traffic safety seriously.

Elevation Church is the second fastest growing church in the nation, said attorney Susanne Todd, speaking on behalf of the church at the hearing.

PETRYK can be reached at [email protected], (704)247-2911.