How Land Use Regulations Can Affect your Church Construction

| Posted: 19-01-2008 | Comments: 0 | Views: 8 | Rating: (50)

(?)

Getting in compliance with land use regulations and concurrency requirements is a key part of any church construction project. Developing land and meeting the requirements of concurrency can cost a church as much as 40 percent of your total project budget, but most churches don't think to add this expense to their total project budget projections in the initial stages.
Here are just some of the things you might need to pay for in the realm of land use and site preparation before you even talk about designing and building your new church:

Impact fees
Utility extension fees
Tap fees
Tie-in costs
Soil analysis and stabilization
Retention
Traffic studies
Landscaping
Signage
Lighting
Parking
Offsite requirements

When you're planning a church construction project, it is common to find a piece of property that you think is going to be perfect for development, but when you look closer you may find there are land issues that will either cost you more money or make it impossible for you to build on the land (such as easements, wetlands and other issues).
Another big issue if you happen to be planning your project for an area that's not growing very quickly or is underdeveloped is known as concurrency. This means that city or county planners can compel you to slow down development on your project until such time that the infrastructure is in place to support your church buildings. So a piece of land can look perfect on the surface, but if you have to wait 10 years for the state to build a highway so your parishioners can get to church, that's not a good deal for you.
And if there are already roads where you are planning to build, the traffic trip counts will have to work in your favor for your project to be viable. The city or county will have a certain number of trips per day that it says are allowable on a certain street, and if you expect your project will exceed the number of trips suggested for that road, your development might not get approved.
The potential problems don't end just because you're building on to an existing structure or on property where your current church building exists. Such expansion projects can subject you to bringing the old building up to current codes, which can be very costly, and building on the same site as an older building can also make you subject to proving that the current building is up to code and meets all current regulations.
All of this makes it sound like your city or county doesn't want to you to expand or develop a church. While in some areas that could well be the case, the truth is that the planning process is blind and you would face the same regulations if you were building a store or a house as you do building a church. The key is to not resent the rules and to know that doing everything according to the regulations is part of the process of designing and building your dream church.

Rate this Article:

Current: 0 / 5 stars - 0 vote(s).

Article Tags: church construction, church design, church building

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/non-profit-organizations-articles/how-land-use-regulations-can-affect-your-church-construction-309851.html

Print article

Send to friend

Publish this Article

Author feedback

About the Author:

Bruce Anderson is a nationally recognized church design and construction consultant and president of Build-Masters Group LLC. Visit his site for a free report, "The Top 10 Mistakes Pastors Make in Designing and Building Their Church…and How to Avoid Them."

Submitting articles has become one of the most popular means of generating quality backlinks and targeted traffic to your website. Join us today - It's Free!

Article Comments

Add new Comment

Got a Question? Ask.

Ask the community a question about this article:

Frequently Asked Questions

I have a building project of constructing a church ...
By: Nyambe | 28-09-2007
I have a building project of constructing a church in Africa and a an orphanage, but we have little resources to construct these structures. How do I write a profile to convince would be supporters in this venture.

Q&A Powered by:

Latest Non Profit Organizations Articles

Old Colony Elderly Services to Hold Bbq for Seniors at Wareham Council on Aging
By: Steve Dubin | 23/07/2008
DATELINE: BROCKTON AND WAREHAM, MA. Old Colony Elderly Services (OCES), a private, non-profit Aging Services Access Point (ASAP) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that serves Wareham, will host an old fashioned barbecue at the Wareham Senior and Social Services Center (Council on Aging) on Tuesday, August 5th at 11:30 a.m.

Boys and Girls Club of Marshfield to Hold Field Trips in July and August
By: Steve Dubin | 23/07/2008
DATELINE: MARSHFIELD, MA… The Boys and Girls Club of Marshfield, which is a 1,000 member strong non-profit organization that provides the area’s youth with enrichment and recreation programs in a safe environment, will offer several youth field trips in July and August to members and non-members.

Growth Boosts Old Colony Elderly Services’ Office Expansion
By: Steve Dubin | 20/07/2008
Old Colony Elderly Services (OCES), a private, non-profit agency that provides seniors, families and caregivers with valuable resources and services, has expanded their Brockton offices. Housed at 144 Main Street, OCES originally leased and occupied 10,000 sq ft of space. Now, the fast growing agency’s offices occupy more than 21,000 sq ft, or almost 60 percent of the entire building. The rest of the building is leased to other businesses, most of which are also non-profits.

Innovative Ideas for Church Fundraisers
By: Clark Swihart | 15/07/2008
Most churches rely solely on donations given by their members during mass for financial support. The money that the church collects is used to cover its general expenses and regular upkeep.

Elder Services Agency Wants Action to Prevent a “no Heat, No Eat” Crisis
By: Steve Dubin | 08/07/2008
DATELINE: PLYMOUTH COUNTY AND AVON, EASTON AND STOUGHTON, MA. Old Colony Elderly Services (OCES), a private, non-profit agency that provides seniors, families and caregivers with valuable resources and services, supports a Mass Home Care letter sent to Governor Deval Patrick and senior Administration officials regarding the growing financial strains that food and energy costs are placing on individuals with fixed incomes.

Golf Classic to Benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Marshfield
By: Steve Dubin | 24/06/2008
will be held on June 27th at Crosswinds Golf Club in Plymouth -Volunteers and Sponsors Needed

Luv Your Hat! Hats Off to Wellesley Woman’s Unique Fundraising Effort for Pancreatic Cancer Research
By: Steve Dubin | 23/06/2008
Luvyourhats’ stylish hats are currently available for purchase online at www.luvyourhat.com, and will soon be appearing at golf pro shops and other retailers as the word spreads about O’Neil’s efforts.

Comedy Camp- Oys and Girls Club of Marshfield Offers “camp Chuckles” This Summer
By: Steve Dubin | 20/06/2008
DATELINE: MARSHFIELD, MA… The Boys and Girls Club of Marshfield, which is a 1,000 member strong non-profit organization that provides the area’s youth with enrichment and recreation programs in a safe environment, will be the host of “Camp Chuckles” in August. Registration begins in June and is open to members and non-members of the club.

More from Bruce C. Anderson

Should You Choose a Building Committee in the Church Building Process?
By: Bruce C. Anderson | 06/03/2008 | Business
Some pastors find that having a church building committee is very helpful in guiding the vision -- and the finances -- of a church design project. Here are some ideas to keep in mind as you begin to think about a new church building.

Designing a Master Plan for your Church Design
By: Bruce C. Anderson | 19/01/2008 | Non Profit Organizations
Every church design project should have a master plan that takes into account land use issues as well as the future growth and use of the church buildings. Here are the basics of designing a church master plan.

Why you Need a Master Plan for your Church Project
By: Bruce C. Anderson | 19/01/2008 | Non Profit Organizations
On the surface, a church construction project may seem like a simple thing, but just like any other development, there are rules and regulations that must be followed. A master plan will ensure your church building process goes smoothly.

Article Categories

Article Marketing

Article Notepad

Stop Duplicate Content

Term Papers

Need Help?

Sign up for our email newsletter

Receive updates, enter your email below

Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the Terms Of Use and Privacy Policy | User published content is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Copyright © 2005-2008 Free Articles by ArticlesBase.com, All rights reserved. (0.14, 9)