CRESTVIEW — Two of Crestview's oldest churches inadvertently shackled from future growth will be unfettered if two re-rezoning ordinances pass a second Crestview City Council reading.
The council on Monday unanimously approved the first of two required public readings of two ordinances amending the city’s comprehensive plan to revert downtown churches to their original zoning.
“It will be taken back to commercial district, which is the original district in which it was assigned prior to the change to downtown mixed-use district,” Teresa Gaillard, the city's growth management director, said.
The First Presbyterian Church and LifePoint, the former First Assembly of God, were included when downtown was rezoned in August 2014. The mixed-use zoning — which officials hoped would encourage people to live in, visit and start businesses such as restaurants, shops and cafes in the historic district — was adopted as part of a revitalization plan. It also discourages new churches from setting up in the district, and prohibits existing churches from expanding.
First Presbyterian is considering plans to raze and replace an aging education building, which, if it grows beyond the building’s existing footprint, would run afoul of current zoning.
But that restriction would be gone if zoning reversion passes, as expected, on the second reading at the Oct. 26 City Council meeting. “It will be allowed to do its renovations or expand if they're going to rebuild,” Gaillard said.
“It is good news, and I am very pleased that what perhaps was an oversight was rectified,” First Presbyterian’s pastor, the Rev. Mark Broadhead, said.
“First Presbyterian Church was chartered in 1916, as was the city, and we’ve enjoyed being a presence of Christ in the heart of the city. This ordinance will let us continue to grow.”
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: First Presbyterian, LifePoint churches expected to revert to previous Crestview zoning