One by one, the people at the meeting stood and spoke, voices sharp with indignation. Their concerns, directed at the pastor onstage, were based on a single imperative: Keep your megachurch out of our neighborhood.
The gathering a few days ago in Timonium, convened at the invitation of the Rev. Daniel K. O'Brien of Grace Fellowship Church, had been intended to assuage residents' concerns about his plans to build a 2,500-seat church on the site of the 30-acre Padonia Park Club, whose owner has agreed to sell the property.
Paramount among the neighbors' apprehensions was the fear that the new church - which would be larger than the 2,443-seat Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore - would alter the complexion of the area, with increased traffic, wider roads, congestion and overbuilding. Residents, who stress that they do not object to churches in general, also fear that water and sewage systems in the largely rural area would be overwhelmed by the proposed development.
Dan Meenan, president of the local advocacy group Save Our Community, founded in July, told the pastor that he had conducted extensive research into the land-use ramifications of a 150,000-square-foot church with 13 acres of paved parking lots on the site, "and no one we've talked to says it can handle it," he said.
In addition, Meenan said, the large flow of congregants' cars would call for installing traffic lights at three intersections, as well as turn lanes. "It's also going to require eminent-domain takings to allow people to stream into this pastoral setting," he said, referring to the likelihood that adjoining properties would be affected by wider thoroughfares.
"The fears are greater than the reality," O'Brien responded. "There already is traffic that's generated there, so the community impact is less than there would be if we'd bought raw land."
In June, O'Brien's church agreed to pay $10 million to members of the Rigger family for the Padonia Park Club, where for almost half a century they have provided swimming pools, day camps and a child care center. The sale is conditional upon zoning and permit approvals from Baltimore County authorities, a process that O'Brien estimated could take three years or more.
"We won't close on the deal any earlier than October 2010, so the swim club will still operate at least until then," he said. "I recognize a sense of loss for people who have enjoyed the pool, but the decision to close the pool was the Riggers', when they decided to sell the property."
