The Moon Township Planning Commission will consider a conditional use application submitted by the controversial Revival Today megachurch when it meets at 6:30 p.m. today in the township Municipal Building, 1000 Beaver Grade Road.
The church has been operating without a permit on property on Coraopolis Heights Road for the last several months, and township officials have issued three cease-and-desist orders, to no avail.
Within the last month, the township UCC Board of Appeals and the township Zoning Hearing Board have denied appeals filed by Moses Land, LLC, which owns the property, and Revival Today, Inc., which leases the land for a fee of $1 per year.
The two parties were appealing notices of violation for grading without a permit and for constructing and occupying a structure with no inspections.
At tonight’s meeting, the Planning Commission will consider Moses Land and Revival Today’s bid to obtain conditional use approval to operate a place of worship on their property at 1442 Coraopolis Heights Road.
The township also alleges that Moses Land constructed or installed a structure more than 246 feet long and more than 82 feet wide on the former Baywood Conference & Lodging Center without submitting a building permit application or obtaining the permit from the township.
Moses Land and Revival Today acknowledge that some township residents have complained about the noise associated with the church’s Sunday morning services. However, the applicants say that the church has repeatedly monitored its sound and that it conforms to the township standards.
Moses Land and Revival Today maintain that use of the Coraopolis Heights Road for a place of worship makes sense for a number of reasons. For example, they point out that the property is close to a number of other churches in the area, and that using the 35-acre property as a place of worship won’t negatively impact the neighborhood in general or surrounding properties in particular.
The proponents also say that operating a church on the property won’t endanger the public health, safety, morals, comfort or general welfare, nor will it negatively impact the neighborhood in terms of air or water quality, illumination and glare, restrictions to natural light and air circulation or other hazardous conditions that could endanger surrounding residents or impair the use of surrounding properties.
Moses Land and Revival Today acknowledge that some township residents have complained about the noise associated with the church’s Sunday morning services. However, the applicants say that the church has repeatedly monitored its sound and that it conforms to the township standards.
In addition, the applicants wrote in their conditional use application that they voluntarily reconfigured their sound equipment – at significant expense – to further reduce the noise level despite its compliance with the ordinance.
The applicants also maintain that using the property as a place of worship will not prove problematic from a traffic standpoint, saying that it would only generate minimal traffic at any time other than Sunday services from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. They also say the property allows for significant area for internal circulation and off-street parking.
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