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Collierville pastor urges change to church parking requirement, says ordinance limits building use
Summary
A pastor asked the Collierville board to revise a local parking ordinance that he said limits churches to parking equal to 50% of building capacity, restricting simultaneous worship and education programs.
Sam Nichols, executive pastor at Collierville First Baptist Church, told the Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen on Aug. 25 that the town’s parking ordinance—stated as “one parking space per two worship attendees” in his comments—can limit a church’s usable building area to roughly 50 percent and hinder plans to run worship and educational programming simultaneously.
“I challenge the town to change that ordinance so that a church is not limited to 50% of its building,” Nichols said, noting that churches often use facilities for worship, education and community programs. Nichols said parking is less expensive than additional building construction and that current limits can force congregations to invest in unused building space rather than parking.
Mayor Frasier and staff acknowledged the request; Miss Maynor (staff) and Development Director Mike Clark were noted as taking the comment for follow-up. No ordinance change or formal staff recommendation was made during the meeting; the item was submitted as a citizen comment and recorded for board consideration.
Nichols referenced local examples, saying other congregations such as Grace Valley also face parking needs. He framed the request as forward-looking planning to allow churches to allocate resources to community programs rather than unnecessary building expansion.
