JUPITER FARMS, FL -- Members of a Jupiter Farms church say they just want the opportunity to worship peacefully.
But residents who live near the proposed place of worship say their neighborhood will be anything but serene if the church is built.
The Palm Beach County Planning and Zoning board gave the green light to a local Seventh Day Adventists congregation to build a church on a five acre lot off 103rd Terrace off Indiantown Road.
Adventists are a multicultural group of Christians who worship on Saturdays and don't believe followers go to heaven immediately after death, but fall asleep until Jesus calls them home.
Neighbors of the proposed church like Luann Dale say the thirteen thousand square foot building will be out of place on a primarily residential road.
“People are downtrodden and want to move,” Dale said. “We are afraid this will lead to commercial construction around here in the future.”
Pastor Dennis McOmber says in these difficult economic times he hopes the church will be an option for people to search for peace.”
“People are moving to Jupiter Farms and we want to be here for them when they come,” McOmber said.
The zoning board approved the plan with modifications including a 35 feet height limit on the steeple, limiting the height and number of lights on the property and making sure the church is set back a distance from the road.
The church will sit 165 feet back from the road behind a lake. And accommodate 300 people.
The church is one of 15 Seventh Day Adventists churches from West Palm Beach to Ft. Pierce and one of 235 in Florida.
County Commissioners must still vote on church construction. If they approve it, the church hopes to open its doors by next summer.
