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Church seeks medical‑wellness use on Business‑16; board tables permit after mixed testimony
Summary
Hills Chapel United Methodist Church asked to rezone and permit a medical‑wellness center in a former parsonage to generate revenue and local services. Supporters cited community need; staff flagged plan’s inconsistency with the land‑use plan. The SUP was tabled to Feb. 17.
Hills Chapel United Methodist Church asked the county on Feb. 3 to rezone a parcel along South NC‑16 Business and to approve a special‑use permit to allow a medical spa/wellness center in an existing church house. Church representatives said the proposal would produce revenue for the congregation and bring wellness services to Denver, while county staff said the rezoning is inconsistent with the county land‑use and corridor vision.
Donald Grice, trustee chair for Hills Chapel, described the site’s legacy and said the congregation wants to repurpose a vacant church house to sustain church operations. “This seemed to be a perfect fit for both parties involved,” Grice told the board, emphasizing the building’s history and recent fundraising.
Julie Jutzer, a licensed massage therapist who would operate the wellness center, described services as therapeutic and medical in nature and said appointments will be long‑form, limiting turnover: “I will not be servicing more than 20 people a day so they can have the quality of care that I'm trying to design,” she said. Supporters in the room described the treatments as locally‑needed and said the center would reduce patient travel to Charlotte and Huntersville.
Planning staff recommended against rezoning, saying the parcel is designated by the land‑use plan as single‑family neighborhood and the corridor vision does not support general business zoning at the immediate location. Several adjacent property owners and a nearby business owner asked the board to consider consistency of zoning and potential business opportunities on Business‑16.
Board action: Commissioners moved to table the related special‑use permit (SUP‑521) to the Feb. 17 meeting to allow further review of consistency with planning guidance and to give staff and the applicant time to provide additional materials. No final vote was taken on the permit.
What’s next: SUP‑521 and the rezoning request will return to the Feb. 17 agenda for additional consideration, accompanied by applicant findings and any staff recommendations.
