Northside Church: Building Project FAQs
Several years ago, Northside purchased just under 20 acres on Powers Avenue with the hope of eventually building a permanent home for our church family. We recognize that this process has created concern and questions for some in our neighborhood and community, and we are aware that information circulating on social media has at times caused confusion about what is actually being proposed.
Our goal is not to shame anyone for their concerns or pressure anyone into agreement. Rather, we simply want to provide clarity and understanding in hopes of easing some of the uncertainty and helping people better understand our hearts and intentions. Most of our families live in North Albany, several within a mile of this property, and we care deeply about this community.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. THE LEGAL & PLANNING PROCESS
Our appeal is based on the need for a decision rooted in objective facts and established legal criteria. It is our belief that some elements of the negative decision were based on elements outside the scope of the application, as well as a misunderstanding of the solutions in place to mitigate concerns shared by some Planning Commission members. While we value community feedback, we believe the initial ruling relied on speculative “what-if” scenarios rather than the technical evidence and land-use laws the Commission is authorized to evaluate. We are seeking a fair review based on the actual requirements of the Benton County code.
The county staff recommended accepting Northside’s conditional use permit with a series of conditions. Northside was required to hire professional engineers to consider things like where the building would be placed, runoff, water, and septic. The results of all of those independent studies were submitted to the county staff, who took them and gave their recommendation to approve the project with conditions to the county planning commission.
2. PROPERTY & BUILDING SPECIFICATIONS
No. While the term “mega-church” has been embraced by some on social media due to its negative connotation, it is factually incorrect.
- The Definition: In church growth research, a “mega-church” is defined as having 2,000 or more weekly attendees.
- The Reality: Northside is a mid-sized congregation of approximately 400 people —larger than some in the valley and smaller than others.
We are building a permanent home sized specifically for our current church family—similar in size to sister churches such as Calvary Chapel and Suburban in Corvallis—not a massive regional complex. Any future growth or phases would have to go through this same public county process.
The church building has a footprint of approximately 9,000 square feet. That means the building will occupy only 1% of our 19+ acres of land. That is the equivalent percentage of a 926 sq. ft. house footprint on a 2-acre lot. To preserve the area’s rural character, we have intentionally designed the structure to be set far back from the road and situated on a downhill slope to minimize its visual profile.
Our site plan utilizes only a small percentage of our 19-acre property. By keeping the church footprint small, setting it back from the road, and maintaining significant open space and natural buffers, we are preserving the rural feel of the area more effectively than a standard or high-density residential development subdivision would.
3. TRAFFIC, INFRASTRUCTURE & ENVIRONMENT
No. This number has been misconstrued in community discussions. While 690 to 700 spots was a maximum figure that county regulations could have mandated for the potential long-term scope of the project, it was never our desire, and we have no intention of building a parking lot that size. Our actual design consists of ~260 spots. We intentionally designed a lot of this size to ensure that 100% of our cars stay on our property and never spill over onto residential streets.
We want to address and be honest about the issue of traffic, as it is a valid concern. However, unlike residential developments that create heavy daily traffic, a mid-sized church has a very low impact on road infrastructure during the week. The appeal process allows us to focus on data, including a professional Traffic Impact Analysis which has been previously conducted. We are fully committed to working with the County to ensure road safety and maintenance standards are met.
We know the wells in this area can be tricky, which is why we worked hard and found a technical way around using one for our everyday needs. This will ensure neighbor’s water supplies are not adversely impacted.
4. COMMUNITY & WEEKLY USE
There are not a lot of land options in North Albany, though we did look at several. Our initial desire was to acquire land next to Oak Grove Elementary School so we could offer parking and support services to the school and community. However, those parcels are zoned EFU (Exclusive Farm Use) and thus were not legally available options for us to pursue. The Powers parcel was zoned as Rural Residential, and building a church on the property was an option. Prior to purchasing the property, we met with Benton County officials to assure that building a church was feasible, and the dialogue was encouraging.
It is a church where the chairs can be cleared out and the space can be used as a gym. This is a common multi-use design for modern churches.
One of the largest stated needs in our community is daycare; we currently exist in what is known as a “daycare desert”. Since the church building will sit largely unoccupied during the week, our thought is to use this facility to help meet a large local need at a small level. The weekday operation would feature a limited number of children, with traffic naturally spread out through the day during drop-off and pick-up hours.
One of our core pillars, “Community”, calls for the church to be available to support North Albany residents, and our facility’s square footage is intentionally designed to offer that support. One of our hopes is to provide a walking path for the community around the perimeter of our property as a way of enjoying the open space, making this property a place where the neighborhood can come together.
5. DEMOLITION & SALVAGE
We understand that many people have a strong affection for the old barn, as it is a landmark structure on the property (we love it too). However, the barn is currently unsafe and in a state of disrepair. It will be removed as part of the building project. To honor its history and community connection, we have plans to salvage and reuse some of the wood in our new construction.
6. ABOUT NORTHSIDE & CONTACT INFO
Northside was a church plant started in 2019 from Suburban Christian Church in Corvallis. Our lead pastor served at Suburban for 19+ years before helping plant Northside.
We encourage everyone to look at our church website for accurate information rather than relying on speculation found on social media: northside-albany.com/cornerstone.
We want to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out via office@northside-albany.com. We’d love to talk with you directly.