The decision whether to give a segment of city-owned road to First United Methodist Church will go to the
Interim City Attorney Audrie Harris said there is no rule in the charter that the commission must consult the Planning and Zoning Board, but the city opted to get some oversight to set the precedent for future decisions on road easements.
The road segment in question is a 395-foot stretch of SE 66th Avenue that divides the property of First United Methodist Church.
Carlos Gosnell, the chairman of the church’s long-range planning committee, said the church can not go forward with its plans to build a multi-purpose family life center, new sanctuary and memorial garden.
“Having a city street divide our property into two separate parcels, does not allow church flexibility we need to efficiently position these new facilities at those most desirable locations to support our church and community functions,” Gosnell said.
Gosnell tried to ease the city’s concerns about the precedent of its decision.
“This situation in which our property has been divided … is unique. A decision to grant our request should not impact any future decision on other church property in Hawthorne.”
Gosnell said the road segment in question receives little traffic and that the church’s expansion plans will not impact adjacent properties.
“We will continue to help the city and its citizens, but we need your help now to improve our future outreach to the community,” Gosnell said.
The commission decided in October to vacate the road, as long as they found that there were no public utilities running under it.
In February, after learning that there were no public utilities beneath the road, the city voted to reconsider the easement at the meeting at the March 16 meeting. The commission’s decision to go to the Planning and Zoning Board for approval means that the church will have to wait longer. The next Planning and Zoning board is not until April 13, meaning the commission won’t get the board’s recommendation until its meeting on April 20.
“We are only asking. We are not demanding, said Drew Standridge, pastor at First United Methodist Church. “I don’t want our church to be the cause of division or whatever because that’s not our purpose. We’re supposed to bring unity, so if we need to be patient a little bit longer, then I think I can speak for the church’s sake. We’ll do that.”
Commissioner Matt Surrency recused himself from the discussion the first two times the issue was voted on because he is a member of the church trying to obtain the road. However, after consulting with the Florida League of Cities and the interim city attorney, he learned that since, as a member, he does not constitute more than one to two percent of the church body and has no personal gain at stake, he is not in a conflict of interest.
Former commissioner Pat Bouie said she had to remove herself before when it came to questions of her church, but she was unaware of this guideline on conflict of interest.