Church has green light to build structures, parking lot
There are changes of biblical proportions coming down the pipe for the tiny, rural community of Emma.
As part of a settlement of a long-standing lawsuit,
Pitkin County commissioners on Wednesday reversed their 2005 denial of
Grace Church of the Roaring Fork Valley's proposal to build 15,500
square feet of church buildings on an 18.5-acre former sheep ranch in
the heart of the midvalley hamlet.
"This is by far the toughest decision I've ever had
to make in my 23 years as an elected official," Commissioner Jack
Hatfield told a roomful of furious Emma-area homeowners, who begged
commissioners to continue fighting the proposal and protect the area's
rural feel and open space.
"We're asking you to be true to yourselves and your
own convictions with respect to this area of the county," said Dick
Bird, who owns property adjacent to the Grace Church property. "You
need to take this thing to court."
"You're giving up a valuable opportunity to test the
strength of the county's regulations," said Emma resident Parker
Maddux, a lawyer himself. Other residents argued that the 197-space
parking lot planned by the church will exacerbate traffic safety issues
at an already treacherous intersection on Highway 82, potentially
requiring a new traffic light. All made clear that they do not object
to the church's right to religious practice.
"There's no way to disagree with you," Commissioner
Michael Owsley told the homeowners. "How can you feel good about this
decision? There just isn't a good outcome for this."
Commissioners originally denied Grace Church's
application in 2005 because, they said, it violated the land-use code
and was at odds with the rural, agricultural character of the
neighborhood. That move landed the county in federal court when Grace
Church sued the county for violating its congregation's civil and
constitutional rights, and for violating the Religious Land Use and
Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, or RLUIPA. The latter act
precludes local governments from imposing land-use regulations that
create a "substantial burden" on religious practices and institutions,
unless there is a compelling public interest to do so.
So far, RLUIPA has held up in every appeals court
ruling, County Attorney John Ely said. If the county were to lose the
case, scheduled for trial Jan. 14 - a likely prospect given the
outcomes of past suits and the intimations of presiding Judge Richard
P. Matsch, he said - it would risk losing control of land use on the
parcel entirely. Settling would "resolve litigation and preserve as
much board control as possible," Ely explained to elected officials.
Commissioners looked upset and tired as they voted
4-1 to accept the settlement and allow the church to be built.
Commissioner Patti Clapper was the lone dissenting vote.
"I'm not comfortable with the terms of the proposal
before us," she said, noting that she is one who is "known for taking
on the feds" in previous battles with the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency. Her statement drew applause from the crowd of homeowners.
The settlement allows the construction of an
8,800-square-foot sanctuary and chapel for the 80-to-100-member
Protestant congregation, as well as a 3,800-square-foot expansion
structure, a 2,400-square-foot residential structure, 500 square feet
of basement space, and a 197-slot parking lot. The county has also
agreed to pay all the church's legal fees, and at least $350,000 in
exchange for a covenant on the property.
That covenant limits the property to the listed
improvements. After 10 years, the property will be bound by the limits
of the land-use code in perpetuity, according to the resolution adopted
by commissioners. RLUIPA applies only to the land-use code, not to
covenants, Ely said.
EMMA FEARS
The Emma residents at the meeting expressed fear
that that will not be enough to stop further development on the parcel,
and that the county will set a precedent, inviting other churches to
take advantage of the rural area.
"You give them everything they want, plus money,
plus legal fees," said Emma Caucus board member David Kelly. "That
looks like a tough pill for the county to swallow."
Emma resident Owen Minney, who has gone through
numerous land-use applications for the defunct Emma Store buildings on
his property, offered that he himself might consider selling his land
to a church. Emma resident Rob Rose added that the residents might
choose to pursue legal recourse, while another suggested that residents
might try to raise enough money to buy the parcel themselves, and stave
off potential commercial expansion.
"We're not going to be trying to sneak in a huge
development. That's just not going to happen," countered Robert Lees,
Grace Church's Denver-based lawyer, who was not present at Wednesday's
meeting. He argued that the county had no choice but to accept the
settlement.
"If you deny people of faith, whatever their faith,
their right to build, that's a constitutional violation, hands down,"
he said. The church planned to ask the federal court to strike the
intergovernmental agreement between Basalt and Pitkin County for
due-process violations, and to strike the zoning code for religious
institutions.
"Frankly, that's a risk that the county does not
want to take," Lees said. "That's something that a developer could get
ahold of," potentially leading to a "much worse" situation, in terms of
undermining the land-use code.
Now that the county has acted in "good faith," Lees
said, the church will return the favor by not seeking punitive relief
in a second federal trial having to do with the case. Instead, the
church will only ask for things such as reimbursement for the increased
cost of construction. Lees added that a status meeting related to that
case will likely take place on Monday or Tuesday.
Homeowners were disappointed and disgusted by the situation.
"It's not going to feel like the country anymore
when a megachurch moves in," said Emma-area resident Tilly Maddux after
the meeting.
Grace Church of the Roaring Fork Valley formed in
2002, after the Basalt Bible Church disbanded and sold its land. The
congregation gathers at the Eagle County Community Center.
sarah@aspendailynews.com