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By Kent Larsen
Church May Sell Forest Hills TN Site to Baptists
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE -- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints has reached a deal to sell a 21-acre site originally slated
for the Nashville Temple to a Southern Baptist congregation who wants
to construct a church on the site. The Grace Community Church would
have to get zoning approval from the city of Forest Hills to build,
and Forest Hills Mayor Charles Evers says he has "no opinion" about
their plans.
The LDS Church announced the Nashville Temple in November 1994, but
soon ran into community opposition to the Temple's construction on
the site from neighbors who complained that the building didn't fit
the neighborhood, "I felt like the suburban estates character of the
city should be maintained," said Mayor Evers in 1996. Evers was
instrumental in getting the Church's plans rejected.
The town's Forest Hills Planning Commission turned down the Church's
request for a zoning change that would have allowed construction of a
Temple after neighbors complained at a series of meetings. The
neighbors also complained that the proposed Temple would bring
traffic problems and more lighting, and that most residents wouldn't
be able to enter the building. In April 1998, the Church abandoned
plans for the Forest Hills site and built a smaller temple in nearby
Franklin, Tennessee.
Now both the LDS Church and the city are making cautious statements
about the Grace Community Church's plans. Mayor Evers said, "I have
no opinion one way or another" until the church submits formal plans
and City Manager Jim Pitman, who has been city manager for about a
year, said "There's a possibility we could approve another church.
Forest Hills is not against churches. The commissioners are not
against churches at all. It depends on the type of church, and on how
the building conforms to the land."
Meanwhile, LDS Church spokesman Kimo Wood told the Tennessean that
the Church didn't care if another church built on the land, "We're
always happy for other churches to be able to build where they want
to build," Wood said. "We would be happy for any church that would do
what they would like to do."
The Baptists have been looking for a location for their congregation
in southern Davidson County for several years, according to David
Atchison, an elder in the Grace Community Church. That church
released a statement Friday saying that it would design its building
to complement the suburban nature of the area and "will incorporate
and take advantage of the natural topography and wooded
characteristics of the site."
Source:
Mormons may sell Forest Hills site to Baptist-affiliated church
Nashville TN Tennessean 30Jun01 T1
By Christian Bottorff: Staff Writer
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