Grace Christian Fellowship Receives

Church Construction Approval

By Andrew Gorosko

Grace Christian Fellowship has received Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) approval to construct a new church off Hawleyville Road (Route 25), near Exit 9 of Interstate 84.

After receiving various requested technical information from the church, P&Z members on November 15 approved the longstanding proposal in a unanimous vote.

The special permit will allow the group to construct a 29,053-square-foot church, with a 1,052-square-foot mezzanine, and a 2,086 square-foot covered area on a 13.7-acre site at 4 Covered Bridge Road.

The P&Z set several conditions on its approval.

Before the church can receive a town building permit for the project, it must provide detailed plans of a planned bridge on the site, plus a stormwater drainage analysis to the town engineer for review and approval.

Also, all exterior lighting on the site must be consistent with the “Dark Sky” lighting standards, which are intended to limit light spillage and glare from the site. Except for basic security lighting on the property, exterior site lighting must be turned off when the church property is not in use. Also, the P&Z is encouraging the church to use interior lighting fixtures that automatically turn themselves off when no one is present in a room.

Also, the P&Z specified that the building not be used as a catering hall or as a day care center. Those restrictions stem from the limited sewage treatment capacity of the septic system planned for the site.

P&Z members decided that the church’s development application is consistent with the requirements of the town’s R-2 (Residential) zone.

P&Z members approved the church project on November 15 after concluding a public hearing which had started on October 4.

The congregation currently occupies a 13,500-square-foot church about one mile away at 174 Mt Pleasant Road (Route 6). The group wants to build a new larger church to meet the needs of its expanding congregation.

The new church would contain a main assembly hall holding 518 seats for church services. The building would enclose a sanctuary, baptistery, office space, kitchen facilities, a nursery, and youth facilities, plus various meeting rooms and gathering spaces.

Last May, the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) approved a wetlands permit for regulated construction work at the site. Pond Brook runs through the area.

The IWC had rejected the church’s 2006 application for a wetlands permit, citing site design deficiencies. The church appealed that rejection in Danbury Superior Court. The church later filed a revised wetlands application, which the IWC approved last May.

In January 2004, the group purchased the land on which the church would be built.

The church would be constructed well back from Hawleyville Road, with extensive visual buffering between it and adjacent properties.

Church members had considered many possible versions of a new church before settling on the proposal approved by the P&Z. Initially, in 2004, church members considered constructing a church complex as large as 70,000 square feet.

Vehicle access to the structure would be provided from Hawleyville Road. A church driveway on the west side of Hawleyville Road would lie about 350 feet south of eastbound I-84’s Exit 9 off-ramp. The driveway serving the church site would cross a wetland via a new bridge. Secondary access to the site for emergency vehicles would be provided via Covered Bridge Road.

Traffic engineers Barkan & Mess Associates of Branford conducted a traffic study for the project. “The amount of new traffic added to the roadway [Hawleyville Road] will not adversely affect traffic operations in the study area,” according to the traffic engineers.

Vehicle parking would be provided on all four sides of the church. Parking facilities would include 156 paved spaces, as well as 42 spaces that would be located atop specialized pavers. Those pavers would allow stormwater to drain through them and into the soil below.

There would be an extensive underground stormwater drainage control system buried beneath the church’s parking lot.

The United Water Company would extend its public water supply system from Mt Pleasant Road to the church site to provide the church with water.

Site landscaping would include the planting of new deciduous trees and evergreens, as well as various bushes.

Designed by Archdesign Group, LLC, of Danbury, the church would have a traditional appearance with a tall central steeple flanked by two cupolas positioned atop two large gables. Facing brick would cover exterior walls.