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Council approves Ridge Community Church special-use permit to host mental-health counseling
Summary
The Greenfield Common Council approved a special-use permit and site review on Sept. 16 allowing New Life Resources to provide counseling services out of Ridge Community Church at 4500 South 108th Street.
The Greenfield Common Council on Sept. 16 approved a resolution granting a special-use permit and site review to allow Ridge Community Church at 4500 South 108th Street to host mental-health counseling services operated by New Life Resources.
Planning staff said the proposal envisions New Life Resources using the church as a satellite counseling site. The planned schedule included three part-time counselors with operating hours 8 a.m.–8 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m. on Thursday; planning staff reported no on-site issues and the planning commission recommended approval in August.
At the meeting, a Ridge Community Church representative said the counseling is intended to serve both church members and the broader community. “The goal is to serve everyone… from kiddos all the way through adults, marriages, addictions,” the speaker said, adding the church will subsidize counseling and offer workshops free of charge. The church representative said the congregation will cover counseling costs and that fees will be available on a sliding scale “where appropriate.”
Council members discussed parking and noted the church is exploring ways to improve and stabilize its existing parking lot at the site. The council approved the special-use resolution and site review by voice vote; recorded questions and clarifications during the meeting concerned tax and nonprofit rules for church-hosted businesses, which staff said had been vetted.
Planning staff and the council emphasized the approval is specific to the use within the church building, not broader organizational matters. Staff added the proposed counseling arrangement follows a model used elsewhere where community counseling providers lease space from churches to create satellite clinics.
The council’s action allows New Life Resources to begin operations subject to the site-review conditions and standard licensing/credentialing for counselors.
