A controversial megachurch that has been operating in Moon Township without permits and has been the recipient of three cease and desist orders will be the subject of a public hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, before the township’s UCC Board of Appeals.
The board will consider applications submitted by Moses Land, LLC, and Revival Today, Inc., which are appealing the notice of violations the township issued pertaining to property on Coraopolis Heights Road that the church has been using for several months to conduct Sunday services.
The meeting is scheduled to take place at the township Municipal Building, 1000 Beaver Grade Road.
The church services have raised the ire of township residents who have told various media outlets the services are noisy and disruptive. Messages left with church leaders Jonathan and Adalis Shuttlesworth have not been returned.
The township issued three separate notices of violation and cease and desist orders – one each for violations of the zoning ordinance, the Uniform Construction Code and the township’s grading ordinance.
According to a public notice on the township’s website, Tuesday’s UCC Board of Appeals hearing will focus on notices of violation for grading without a permit and for constructing and occupying a structure with no inspections.
Those are just two of the violations that the township alleges in the matter. The township also alleges that Moses Land, LLC, 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.
The township also said the property owners are required to obtain conditional use approval to use the property as a place of worship, but that has yet to occur.
A hearing related to the conditional use approval is scheduled to take place before the township Planning Commission on Oct. 16, which follows by one week a hearing before the township Zoning Hearing Board.
In its application for conditional use, Revival Today, which leases the Coraopolis Heights Road property from Moses Land, LLC, for a base rent of $1 per year, states that it intends to use the property as a church “for the observation and practice of the Christian religion, including, without limitation, outdoor Sunday worship services.”
The three-year lease was signed in May and runs through May 2, 2027. Patricia S. Snyder, president of Moses Land, LLC, is listed as the landlord and Jonathan D. Shuttlesworth, president of Revival Today, Inc., is listed as the tenant.
Revival Today said in its conditional use application that no land development is proposed or contemplated, and it listed several reasons why a conditional use should be granted, including the fact that it’s located close to an existing church – First Baptist Church of Coraopolis – and is within a mile of four other churches.
“The use of the property as a church will not alter the established character and use of the neighborhood and district in which it is located,” the application states, noting that the property spans more than 35 acres and its proposed use is compatible with the surrounding properties.
According to the conditional use application, the church is aware of noise complaints lodged by township residents but that it has “repeatedly monitored and confirmed compliance” with township ordinances.
“Further, and at significant expense to the church, the church voluntarily reconfigured its sound equipment to further reduce the noise level despite its compliance with the ordinance,” the use application states.
Church officials also claim road access to the property is more than sufficient to handle traffic for the Sunday services, which it states take place from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The application states that a traffic engineer and the state Department of Transportation are reviewing the church’s traffic impacts.
The applicants also state that the property is served by public water and sewer systems and complies with all applicable standards for stormwater management and solid, hazardous and toxic waste storage and disposal.
The township’s Board of Supervisors held a public hearing Sept. 23 on the conditional use application but continued the hearing until Oct. 22.
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