Another Roadblock for Christ Lutheran Expansion Plans

A Montgomery County Hearing Examiner has once again recommended denial of a zoning change necessary for the Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, located near the intersection of Old Georgetown Road and Glenbrook Road, to expand.

The church has been involved in an ongoing public hearing process in hopes of changing its zoning from residential to planned development – a high-density, mixed use zone – to allow for a new building that would house the church and a community center alongside a 94-foot residential building. The plans have been hotly contested by neighbors who say the building would dwarf surrounding single-family residences and would be out of character with the community.

The Montgomery County Council will ultimately need to weigh in on the zoning change.

The Montgomery County Planning Board recommended approval of the zoning change in 2007, but a hearing examiner recommended it be denied in 2008, saying that the development wasn't compatible with the neighborhood. The original plan called for retaining the existing church structure and building a community center alongside it, along with a 114- foot residential structure with 107 units. After the hearing examiner recommended denial of the plan in 2008, the church revised their plans. The new plans would raze the church building and combine the church and community center in a new building. It also reduces the size of the residential structure.

The new plan was also recommended for approval by the Montgomery County Planning Board early this year. But another hearing examiner recommended Sept. 29 it be denied, again citing compatibility issues. "…the problems created by excessive density on a small site next to single-family homes  cannot be overcome by the proffered changes," county hearing examiner Martin Grossman wrote.

Check back to Patch for ongoing coverage of the church's proposed expansion plans.