Thursday, January 23, 2014

Troy ZBA Decides ... ADAM Community Center is a Place of Worship

As I mentioned last month...
The Troy Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) was asked to interpret whether the proposed principal use of the property at 4924 Rochester Road "constitutes a community center, a club, place of worship, or some other use under the City’s Zoning Ordinance." FYI... this is the old location of Marinelli's Restaurant in Troy.
The issue was decided earlier this week by the ZBA upon which I sit as one of the seven members. The ZBA, on a 5 to 2 vote, interpreted that the proposed use of the property at 4924 Rochester Road constitutes a place of worship.

I cast one of the two "No" votes because I thought that the ZBA did not have enough information to come to that conclusion. While the ADAM Community Center is clearly a religious organization, my opinion was that there are too many conflicting facts to render a decision that the proposed use constitutes a place of worship.

Regardless of the outcome, I commend my ZBA colleagues and City staff for their balanced assessment of the facts on this contentious issue.

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