Opponents of an expansion at the Church of Scientology in Sandy Springs say they hope to defeat the proposal Tuesday when it goes before the City Council.
Church leaders have waited three years for permission to add 12,000 square feet to their building near Roswell Road and Glendridge Drive. The proposal was defeated in 2009, and the church filed suit.
Last year, a federal judge upheld the city's decision to limit the size of the church based on its on-site parking, but church leaders say they have corrected the deficiency.
The City Council appeared poised to approve the rezoning last month, but more than 50 opponents showed up and argued they had not been given enough notice to prepare their case. They said they oppose the expansion based on its effect on one of the city's busiest intersections.
The council voted 5-2 to delay a decision until this month.
"I think that some on the council might be peddling the view that this has all been settled," said Robin Beechey, who represents the Willow Glen Condominium Association. "That is not the case. It's perfectly open to the council to turn this application down."
In a statement issued last week, a group representing four Sandy Springs homeowners associations disputed the church's claim that it had met the city's parking requirements.
The group plans to argue that the church has not secured the 130 parking spots necessary to accommodate a 44,000-square-foot facility. It claims the church is counting 50 parking spaces to be located on land owned by the U.S. Postal Service. Because the church does not own that property, they argue, it cannot "serve only the designated use," parking, as required by the city's zoning ordinance.
The council meeting is at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Sandy Springs City Hall, 7840 Roswell Road.
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