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Growing Parkside Church plans major expansion
(by Joan Demirjian - December 23, 2009)
Growing Parkside Church plans major expansion
By JOAN DEMIRJIAN
Since Parkside Church opened in 1993 in Bainbridge, the congregation has continued to grow. Now, the church is seeking to expand the facility to accommodate its members.
The church on Pettibone Road has applied to the Bainbridge zoning board of appeals for modification of its conditional-use permit and a variance to the township's height restriction.
The regulations limit height to 35 feet, and the addition will be 45 feet high, according to Chardon attorney Dale Markowitz, who is representing Parkside Church. He presented the plans at a hearing Dec. 17.
The proposal calls for adding a new sanctuary, classrooms and spaces for maintenance and storage. The addition is being built on the north end of the existing structure.
The Rev. Alistair Begg, senior minister, has been with Parkside since 1983, before the church moved to Bainbridge. Parkside has grown over that time, and it offers four services on Sunday and activities engaging the whole community.
As with a family home, over time there are things that would be done differently, the Rev. Begg said, and they are reconfiguring elements and adding more seating.
The proposed plan would allow Parkside to be an even better neighbor and friend in the community, he said.
Mr. Markowitz said lot coverage on the site would go over the limit of 40 percent with the addition, so contiguous land was added to keep it below 40 percent.
After the City of Solon extended sewers and a city waterline, Parkside Church was connected to the utilities last spring. There are no ground-water concerns, Mr. Markowitz said.
Parkside has bought some homes close to the church, including on Root Road. All are used to house missionaries, and they are made available to visiting pastors, Mr. Markowitz said. The church has also purchased the site of Solon Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1863 next door on Pettibone Road.
At last week's hearing, information was presented on storm-water management on the site as well as traffic. Most of the traffic is from the west and a uniformed police officer directs traffic on Sundays.
Geologist Yoram Eckstein, a professor of hydrogeology at Kent State University, said the church has a 431-foot-deep well. Now, with city water, the well is used for irrigation of grass and two of the houses, so demand on the well has been greatly reduced, he said.
Architect Tony Paskevich said a growing congregation drove the need to expand, but the church also needed a small chapel. "We'll present what we believe is the best solution," he said.
The existing sanctuary would be reconfigured for the chapel with about 400 seats for special uses, including weddings and funerals, and a portion would be used for classrooms.
A new sanctuary would be built with 2,588 to 2,600 seats along with 14 classrooms in the lower level and storage and maintenance facilities.
"We're adding 114,817 square feet," Mr. Paskevich said.
The proposed expansion with its 45-foot height would be accessible by the township fire department's ladder truck.
"It will blend with the old," Mr. Paskevich said. "It's set back from all property lines to minimize impact." The total parking area will accommodate 1,305 parking spaces.
Michael Bowerman, director of facilities and planning, said, Parkside was built on 40 acres and now we have a total property ownership of 81 acres. Not all are contiguous.
The existing building is roughly 139,000 square feet. Parkside services are drawing in excess of 3,000 on Sunday mornings, and the church is filled to 80 percent capacity. "We moved here in 1993 and we came with 900 people," he said. There are now 1,750 members, but many more attend the services.
"Alistar is gifted in teaching the Bible and at making it relevant," Mr. Bowerman said of the steady growth.
Michael Lamanna, chairman of the board of zoning appeals, said the fire department usually reviews plans before decisions are made. Along with that review, he said he also would like more information on drainage issues to be sure runoff from the site is not going into the riparian areas.
The board will review the proposal again Jan. 21.
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