For Hope Community Church, the Columbus Planning Commission meeting Monday was an answer to prayer.
“Hallelujah,” Pastor Bo Jeffares said shortly after the commission voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council approve the church”s controversial request to relocate to the old movie theater at 401 Main St.
The building, which is owned now by Malco Theatres and is next to the Gilmer Inn, would be renovated for a church and coffee shop, according to Jeffares.
The church”s plan was initially opposed by some local property owners, who raised concerns about what they perceived as insufficient Main Street parking space for a church and the precedent of opening the district to churches.
“It”s been a controversial issue, and we didn”t mean for it to be,” Jeffares said. “I think we”ll prove our worth (to downtown).”
If the deal with Malco goes through, the church will pay state sales tax on its coffee, as required by state law, and will open its 200-seat auditorium for use by the city, Jeffares said.
Downtown Columbus needs a coffee shop, he told the commission Monday.
“Somebody ought to do it, and who would be better to do it than us?”
Jeffares also said the church had not taken a stance on alcohol consumption, but would not oppose businesses that sell alcohol being located nearby — another concern of downtown businessmen.
The church, which is currently located on Highway 45 South, hopes to minister to the downtown crowd, especially at the Gilmer Inn, Jeffares had told the commission at its last meeting, when it tabled the request.
Although the commission had doubts at that meeting, it couldn”t stop the church even if it wanted to because of its own ordinances, according to City Attorney Jeff Turnage.
The city”s own chart-of-uses ordinance automatically grants requests by theaters in C-2 commercial districts like Main Street, Turnage said. Combined that with a federal law that says municipalities can”t deny churches access to areas theaters can move to, and the city has to allow churches into C-2 commercial districts.
Turnage said the city will be reviewing that part of the chart of uses and would make revisions to give the city a say in whether churches can move into the district.
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