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Church, denied use of The Club for services, asks Canton if they can use building for office space

Posted 1/21/19

CANTON -- In their bid to occupy their newly purchased building at 25 Court St., the former Club restaurant, the Christian Fellowship Center is asking the village Zoning Board of Appeals to allow …

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Church, denied use of The Club for services, asks Canton if they can use building for office space

Posted

CANTON -- In their bid to occupy their newly purchased building at 25 Court St., the former Club restaurant, the Christian Fellowship Center is asking the village Zoning Board of Appeals to allow them to set up a professional office there.

The Canton Village Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing on Monday, Jan. 28, at 7 p.m. at the courthouse to receive public comment on the church’s application to use the space as an office.

Village code enforcement officer Jeffrey Murray recently denied the CFC’s application for a professional office use of the property.

The CFC is asking the board to reinterpret Murray’s decision.

The ZBA is expected to take action on the request following the public hearing on Jan. 28.

At a meeting on Jan. 16, ZBA denied the CFC’s request to reinterpret Murray’s previous denial of an application to use the lot as a church, the CFC’s ultimate goal. The lot is located in the village’s C1 commercial zone, which does not allow churches or religious organizations. Several of the other zones in the village, which comprise the majority of the downtown properties, do allow religious institutions.

The CFC paid $310,000 for the property from Custmo Inc. on Friday, Jan. 11, as the ZBA’s first decision was still pending.

The purchase agreement held no zoning contingency clause, a legal construct which would allow the CFC to pass on the purchase if the ZBA denied them zoning approval, said Jamie Sinclair, the pastor of the Canton branch of the CFC, which hopes to take up residence in the former Club building.