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Clay County board allows Grace Missionary Baptist Church to defer required perimeter fence for up to five years
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Summary
The Clay County Board of Adjustment voted 5-0 on April 30, 2026, to permit Grace Missionary Baptist Church to defer installation of a required 6-foot, 85%-opaque perimeter privacy fence for up to five years following issuance of a certificate of occupancy; staff had recommended denial because the request lacked a specific compliance date.
The Clay County Board of Adjustment voted 5-0 on April 30, 2026, to allow Grace Missionary Baptist Church to delay installation of a required perimeter privacy fence for up to five years after its certificate of occupancy.
Staff had recommended denial. Planning staff told the board the county’s land development code (Article 6, section 6-8) requires a 20-foot type-B perimeter buffer that may include a berm, evergreen plantings and an opaque fence and that the applicant’s request to defer the fence to an unspecified future date was inconsistent with the code and with the intent to buffer dissimilar uses.
At the hearing the applicant, John Williams, identified himself as pastor of Grace Missionary Baptist Church and said the church opened under a temporary certificate of occupancy and is over budget. "We are over budget," Williams said, adding that a contractor gave a quote of about "$7,500" for the north-side fence. He told the board he preferred the church without a fence and that a neighbor to the north had submitted an email supporting not installing the fence.
Board members pressed staff and the applicant on whether newly planted shrubs and trees could meet the opacity requirement now or whether they would take years to do so. Staff said shrubs would need to be planted at roughly 6 feet tall to substitute for a fence at planting and that the small, slow-growing trees on the landscape plan were unlikely to reach the county’s opacity standard for several years. The chair noted that buffer requirements are intended to protect future residents as well as current neighbors.
Board members discussed options including denial, re-advertising a revised application to seek permanent removal of the requirement, or granting a time-limited deferral. After debate a member moved to approve a modification allowing the installation of the fence to be deferred for up to five years; another member seconded the motion. The board voted 5-0 to approve the modification.
The action grants the applicant temporary relief from the immediate requirement for the 6-foot, 85%-opaque fence but places a five-year sunset on that deferral; the board noted that enforcement or complaints by neighbors could prompt later review. The board did not adopt language eliminating the buffer requirement permanently. Chair comments closed the item and staff will record the five-year deferral in the file.
