Will the Jehovah's Witnesses Be Allowed to Build Church in Dacula?

Will the Jehovah's Witnesses finally be allowed to build a church on their Dacula property? The congregation will find out later this month.

On Sept. 3, the Gwinnett County Planning Commission voted 8-0 to recommend approval for a special use permit which would allow the Jehovah's Witnesses to build a 5,000-square-foot church on their property located in the 1500 block of Ace McMillian Road. The request will go before the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 24.


The Jehovah's Witnesses have made it this far in the process previously. In 2011, the Gwinnett County Planning Commission also recommended approval for the special use permit request despite the fact the planning department had recommended denial. The planning department analysis, which cited a nearly identical denial for a church in 2007, stated the location could result in an inappropriate amount of traffic in the sparsely developed residential and agricultural area.

The request failed to muster enough support at the county commission level however. On Feb. 22, 2011, the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners voted 3-1 to deny the request.

Citing the rural nature of the area, then-District 3 Commissioner Mike Beaudreau motioned for denial.

“This community, as depicted in the planning department report, is very rural in nature,” Beaudreau said at the time. “You’re talking about a fairly sizeable congregation with multiple services that will change a rural area forever.”

Nearby residents remain concerned the construction of a church will negatively impact the community.

During the Sept. 3 planning commission meeting, Betsy Stross, whose property is behind and in line of sight of the proposed church, said the Jehovah's Witnesses have had nothing but a negative impact since 2007 by not properly maintaining the property. Stross maintains residential is the highest and best use of the property.

"There is a scarcity of this type of residential property," she said. "There is not a scarcity of church sites."

Stross and other nearby residents in attendance at the planning commission meeting also cited concerns about traffic, aesthetics and light pollution.

Marian Adeimy, the attorney representing the Jehovah's Witnesses, told planning commission members that nearby homeowners have not responded to offers to meet and discuss concerns about the use of the property.

"While we respect the homeowners' concerns, we believe they can be addressed through the conditions in this zoning," she said.

Adeimy explained the only reason the request was necessary is due to Ace McMillian's classification as a minor collector road -- a classification she said was made in error. Churches are allowed on property zoned as RA-200 except when the roads are classified as a minor collector.

District 3 planning commission member Chuck Warbington said discussions with DOT officials have convinced him Ace McMillian is improperly designated as a minor collector road.

"The only reason this is coming in is because of classification of a road -- not because it's agricultural, not because it's residential -- but because of classification of that road," Warbington said.

Warbington subsequently motioned to recommend approval for the request with conditions including a 30-foot landscape buffer external to all property lines and the requirement the church building be limited to 5,000 square feet.

In her address to planning commission members, Adeimy said a religious institution has federal protections when it comes to the ability to develop and use a piece of land.

"We believe if they are unable to develop this property that it could constitute a taking under the Constitution," she said.

Adeimy said the congregation would be comprised of local residents who have waited a long time for a church to be built.

"They just seek a place to worship that's near their homes," she explained.