By Corey Everitt
Follow Baptist Church’s attempt to find a home for their Sunday Service was about to be rejected but the divine intervention of councillors ensured their promised land remained in Cardinia.
The council considered a motion to reject a permit for a place of worship at unit 4/108 Mulcahy Road, Pakenham at the town planning meeting on Monday 3 February.
The application follows an extended period by Follow Baptist Church to find a permanent home for their service.
Known widely for their charity outfit, Follow Bless Collective, they are frequent collaborators with the council in ongoing relief work.
The motion moved by council officers rejected their permit on the grounds of its inconsistency with the industrial zoning of the site and insufficient provision of car parking.
However, Cr Potter moved an alternative motion to approve the permit stating, “we cannot afford to lose a group like this.”
“I believe saying a blanket no to this application would be a missed opportunity for our shire,” Cr Potter said.
“The quality of effects of this type of work this applicant does are difficult to simply quantify.”
Cr Potter did not deny the concerns of the original motion, however she said the existing variety of the area and the operation of the church during non-business hours made her believe the application made a sufficient compromise with surrounding interests.
The council officer motion argued, “the use of land for a ‘place of worship’ undermines the sustainable development of the precinct, compromising the long-term purpose of the area to guide, attract and develop industrial and related activities in the precinct.”
Proposing to house a maximum of 250 attendees during off-peak hours such as Sunday morning and evening, under council planning provisions 75 spaces were required for such an application.
The facility alone holds 42 spaces commonly shared among the four factory units of the property and the applicant sought a waiver of the parking minimum.
The applicant also proposed constructing three extra parking spaces behind existing ones on the site.
Despite acquiring written consent to utilise the car parks of the nearby Cardinia Shire depot and the factory of Hayes Products during peak days, these were not considered in the officer’s motion as they were not incorporated into the application.
The parking waiver sought will result in a heavy reliance on street parking, the officer motion said, which will increase the likelihood of cars circulating the area and expose patrons to heavy vehicle traffic.
Cr Owen supported the alternative motion, saying he believes the applicant has considered any impacts it may have and that surrounding parking could be sufficient during non-business hours.
Cr Ross supported the permit saying he has “never seen anybody complain about a church, so far, for having an overflow of car parks.”
Mayor Kowarzik said the role of councillors is to consider both the planning provisions as well as the needs of their constituents and believed the church would be “good neighbours” to the area.
In May 2024, an application at this same site for a kid’s gymnastics centre which had a similar proposal to construct additional car spaces but would operate during business hours was rejected by councillors on the grounds of insufficient parking and zone incompatibility.
The application for a place of worship received two objections around land use, pedestrian safety, impact on the surrounding area and car parking.
Cr Thomsen did not participate in the debate or vote of this motion as he declared a conflict of interest.
Cr Potter’s alternative motion to grant a permit was carried unanimously by councillors.
