FREDERICK, Md. (AP) — A Korean-American church based in Silver Spring has won approval from the Frederick County Planning Commission for an 800-seat worship center near Sugarloaf Mountain, despite opposition from nearby residents.
The Frederick News-Post reports the panel voted 3-1 Wednesday to approve the Global Mission Church’s site plan.
The project is a scaled-down version of a 1,200-seat church, three-story school and 500-seat dining hall proposed in 2009. State environmental regulators said that plan was too big for the proposed septic system.
Some neighbors say the church is still too big. And the Audubon Naturalist Society says the view from Sugarloaf Mountain should not include a large church.
The church still must win a legal challenge to its plans for a paved, emergency access road.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
