First Baptist Church rezoning approved to permit standalone parking lot; council cites safety and downtown impacts

The Murfreesboro City Council on Feb. 6 approved a rezoning request from First Baptist Church to combine nine parcels near the intersection of South Burberry Avenue and East Castle Street into a Planned Institutional District (PND) with the City Core Overlay to permit a stand‑alone parking lot and related site improvements.

The church and its agent told council the parcels — which include existing homes owned by the church — would be demolished to create parking to relieve on‑street parking congestion near the downtown campus and improve emergency access.

Why it matters: staff said a standalone parking lot would not be permitted under the base zoning without rezoning to a planned institutional district. The church and staff argued the parking will reduce on‑street hazards where sidewalks are limited and narrow streets impede vehicle flow.

Pastor McCarroll of First Baptist described the safety and circulation problems the project aims to address, saying, “We've had parking issues. We've seen, cars be in every part within a 4 block radius of our church on every single street.” He told council the church has acquired adjacent properties and intends the parking to return traffic flow to the neighborhood and make access safer for emergency vehicles during services.

City staff and the applicant presented project details including:

- Extent and purpose: Rezoning of nine parcels into a Planned Institutional Development (PND) to permit a parking lot expansion and related campus consolidation. Staff said the rezoning removes the need for special‑use permits for future church improvements and places future physical changes under the PND process.

- Parking counts: During the hearing, staff first said the total parking would be “a little over 200, about 205” spaces; later, the project agent reported that Lot A would provide approximately 105 newly proposed spaces while the existing campus holds about 46 spaces. The transcript contains both figures; the council record does not specify a final combined total in the hearing record.

- Design and mitigation: project documents and staff emphasized lighting (maximum fixture height 16 feet), screening and buffers with three buffer types plus a 6‑foot fence in key locations, sidewalk connections on East Castle Street and South Burberry Avenue, and internal pedestrian walkways intended to be open to the community. Staff said the design uses crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) principles.

- Phasing: staff said Lot B would be a future phase while Lot A is the immediate focus.

Planning Commission held a neighborhood meeting in the fall and recommended approval after a January public hearing. During the council meeting, the project drew public comment from Pastor McCarroll in support; no public opposition spoke at the council hearing. Council members voiced support; one member asked the church to consider dedicating a space for a named individual to ensure parking availability on Sundays — an informal request from the dais.

Council approved the rezoning motion by roll call with unanimous aye votes from Miss Aberwater, Councilman Austin Maxwell, Vice Mayor Schacklett, Mr. Wade, Mr. Wright and Mayor McFarland.

What happens next: staff will finalize the PND zoning documents and pattern book language. Because the property will be in a PND, future campus building additions would be processed through zoning amendment procedures rather than the Board of Zoning Appeals. The timeline for demolition of existing homes and construction of Lot A was not specified in the council record.

Project contacts and presenters at the meeting included Brian Grover (SCC) and Warren Russell (representative for First Baptist); Pastor McCarroll spoke during public comment.