Bridge Community Church expansion not acted on; public hearing left open and deferred at applicant request

The planning commission postponed action on a category 13 special exception filed by Bridge Community Church to expand its ministry center. Staff advised the commission that the public advertisement for the application contained an error, preventing the commission from acting at this meeting.

Staff summarized the proposal: an approximately 7,800‑square‑foot expansion to increase seating capacity (from 394 to a potential 499), add children’s and youth spaces, build a barn‑style multipurpose building and add 48 parking spaces for a new total of 333 spaces. The property totals about 33.78 acres in split agricultural/rural residential zoning south of Warrenton on James Madison Highway and is the subject of prior special permits and amendments dating to 2010–2018.

Lead pastor Dr. Greg Hackett spoke for the applicant and described community services the church provides, and several neighboring residents testified with concerns about rural character, visual impact, screening, septic capacity, groundwater and traffic. One neighbor said landscaping conditions approved in prior permits had not been fully implemented and asked the commission to deny further expansion. The commission accepted a request from the applicant’s representative to defer the item up to 90 days and left the public hearing open to allow the applicant to supply corrected materials and additional data.

Because the advertisement error prevented action, no vote was taken and no conditions were adopted; the commission will consider the item again at a future meeting when the public notice and applicant materials are corrected.