By ADAM ATKINSON
North Country Now

CANTON – A church’s plans to house its congregation in a building it just bought in the downtown Canton commercial district have been blocked once again.

The Village Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously at its meeting Wednesday, Jan. 16 to uphold Code Enforcement Officer Jeffrey Murray’s decision to deny the Christian Fellowship Center a use permit to relocate its Canton church at 25 Court St.

The lot and building were traditionally the site of several restaurants over the years and sits inside Canton’s C1 commercial zone. The C1 zone, which covers a small portion of the village’s downtown, does not allow churches or religious organizations to operate within its borders. Many of the village’s other development zones do allow churches.

The CFC bought the property for $310,000 Friday, Jan. 11, with the ZBA decision still pending.

Canton CFC leader Jamie Sinclair said earlier in the day, prior to the Wednesday ZBA meeting, that the organization had fully closed on the sale. Sinclair said the contract did not contain a zoning contingency clause, a legal construct which would allow the CFC to pass on the purchase if the ZBA denied them zoning approval.

Sinclair said the CFC still plans to resolve the zoning issue and house its 100-member Canton congregation at the 25 Court St. building.

“We are excited to use this building as a church and see this as a blessing for us and the whole community,” said Sinclair.

“I’m a little disappointed, but we are going to process our options,” Sinclair said later that night, after the ZBA decision was announced.

The pastor had said previously that the church would pursue both “local and extra-local avenues of recourse” if the ZBA decision was not in the church’s favor.

The CFC is based in Madrid and has several other churches in St. Lawrence County. Sinclair said the Madrid CFC site will continue to house the organization’s shared offices, but that the church anticipates using some of the space at 25 Court for offices as well if they can secure a use permit for the building.

The village planning board recently denied an application by the Canton CFC to use the property for office space. Sinclair said he plans to appeal that planning board denial.

With a standing purchase offer sitting on the property for several months prior to signing the papers last week, the church has been wrangling with the planning board and ZBA for zoning approval to operate on the property almost as long.

The 25 Court St. lot, formerly owned by Alfred Cassara by way of the holding company Custmo Inc., had been on the market since the last restaurant to hand out a menu there, The Club, closed in the summer of 2018.

The ZBA based its decision in part on village attorney Gerald Ducharme’s legal opinion of local zoning restrictions and how they may relate to the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). The act prohibits certain kinds of discrimination of religious institutions in matters of zoning, notably if there is undo hardship placed on the church or faith organization, or if they are treated less than equal to a secular organization.

ZBA Chairman Conrad Stuntz said after the Wednesday night meeting that the board determined the church was not being treated less equally to other secular organizations when it was denied a use permit by the code enforcer.

During their meeting, the board held a 25-minute executive session with Ducharme to hear his advice before reconvening to discuss the matter prior to the vote.

Each of the board members, when polled by Stuntz, said they felt that Murray’s interpretation of the village code when he denied the CFC their use application was valid.

“I’m a business owner. I looked for a property in which to place my office for over 4 and a half years,” said ZBA board member Debbie Gilson. “I ran into one hurdle after another because of the zoning. . . I waited patiently and I waited for the right property to become available and I moved on it. It might take a little time. There are other options. I just feel the zoning is not permitting it.”

ZBA member Caitlin Gollinger added that she and her family ran into similar issues house hunting before they found the right place for them.

“If we allow a church, does it impact other businesses?” Stuntz asked.

“Yes, absolutely,” Gilson said.

“For me this is the primary issue here,” said ZBA board alternate Andy Whittier who was involved in the discussion, but as an alternate had no vote on the decision. “Because it does impact the future development of the properties near the church with the liquor license law.”

The state’s 200-foot alcohol setback rule prevents new businesses sporting a liquor license from operating within 200 feet from the doors of a church. The setback rule was one of the main concerns the ZBA has deliberated after it was brought up a public hearing in November.