Claude Mills, Staff Reporter
RESIDENTS of the so-called "Golden Triangle" area of the Corporate Area have staved off another attempt by a church to erect buildings which would contravene the zoning laws of the area.
Recently a judicial review upheld the decision of the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) to refuse permission to the Temple of Light Church of Religious Science to erect a building on the premises of 4-6 Fairway Avenue, New Kingston.
"While I am a religious zealot, I don't believe that everywhere is suitable for a church," KSAC Town Clerk Errol Greene told The Sunday Gleaner.
The "Golden Triangle" refers to the area which extends from a section of Hope Road to Matilda's Corner and back to Seymour Avenue and Lady Musgrave Road in St. Andrew. It includes buildings such as Vale Royal, the official residence of Jamaica's Prime Minister.
The Temple of Light Church had sought to quash a decision of the KSAC's Building and Town Planning committee to refuse the application of the church to erect a multi-purpose building at 4-6 Fairway Avenue, but its plans have been thwarted.
"This ruling shows that the KSAC is serious about town planning decisions," Mr. Greene added. "A lot has slipped through the cracks in the past, but this indicates that wherever we see a problem, we will deal with it most aggressively."
The church had sought to recover damages in excess of $3.5 million, including $1.5 million for the escalation in building costs over the period of delay.
The church, however, intends to challenge the review in the Court of Appeals, according to its lawyer. Norman Wright, Q.C.
"We are appealing the judgement in the Court of Appeals," Mr. Wright said. "We were given planning permission subject to the submission of building drawings for approval. And those plans were then submitted, but the appropriate authority took a long time to deal with it. So why can't we proceed as planned?
"They advised us that if we did not get a response from them, we could appeal to the Minister, and we did, but he dismissed our appeal, and accepted the decision of the Town & Country Planning Committee, and now the court has agreed with the Minister," Mr. Wright added.
Residents opposed the church's plan claiming it would bring more traffic and noise to the area, a claim denied by Mr. Wright, who is also a member of the congregation of the Temple of Light of Religious Science.
"They have said something about noise and traffic but there has been no evidence of that since we've been here since 1978," he said. "No one has ever complained about noise from our activities, or that our presence has caused traffic problems."
According to Mr. Wright, residents in the area had objected to the church's initial efforts to adjust the covenant of its title, which would allow the church to add an extension to the original building.
In 1989, the church made an application for building permission for the construction of a multi-purpose building with stage for performances and presentations. The Town and Country Planning Authority refused this application.
The KSAC became the local planning authority in 1992. In October of that year, the church applied to the KSAC for outline building permission. The KSAC approved the application for development of the property subject to certain conditions.
In the past, other religious bodies have failed to get clearance to erect buildings within that particular area.
In 1991, the Covenant Community Church was forced to relocate from its 97 Old Hope Road premises when citizens of the area who objected to the church erecting a permanent structure on the land, filed an injunction against the church. A court later enforced the injunction when the Town and Country Planning department refused to grant the church's application for change of use of the premises.
"When the court ruled that no church could meet at the premises, we lost a lot of members initially from our 800 member congregation, but I guess it was for the better because we have prospered since then. After a retreat in 1991, we decided to split up into seven different groups, and were forced to rent premises to relocate our junior high school and primary schools," said Pastor Bobby Wilmot.
The church still owns the lot of land at 97 Old Hope Road.
