City Council chambers didn’t have one empty seat on Wednesday evening, and spectators also filled overflow seating just outside the doors, as many people on both sides came out to be heard on the topic of a new church in North Suffolk.

Riverbend Church proposed to construct a 34,000-square-foot, two-story church at 231 and 241 Meadow View Blvd.

At the end of a long public hearing and discussion, City Council voted 6-2 in favor of granting the permit. Councilmen Donald Goldberg and Roger Fawcett voted in opposition.

Both parties, those in favor and those opposed, have held meetings prior to the public hearing at City Council. Riverbend hosted a meeting on Nov. 30, 2017 for the community, and they hosted another public meeting on Jan. 31. The homeowners’ association for the community held a private meeting on Jan. 30.

Melissa Venable, principal and founder of Land Planning Solutions, spoke in favor of the project. Venable submitted the application for the permit on behalf of the Bobby Hill, applicant and pastor at Riverbend Church, and Bennett’s Creek Professional Center, the property owner.

“Churches in America over the last 30 years are in decline. Old denominations are losing people drastically,” Venable said. “Bible-based non-denominational churches are growing. That is what is growing in our community.”

The community is currently zoned for a traditional neighborhood development.

“What makes a successful TND is traffic, parking and B-1 [general commercial] uses,” Venable said. “TNDs were made to remedy low-density, auto-dependent suburbs. A sustainable TND must have several components — housing, employment and gathering spaces, which are often religious components. Suffolk is growing in the right direction, and far be it from me to stand in the way of that type of growth.”

“Today, we are a church that attracts people,” Pastor Hill said. “It’s helpful to note that this church does not subscribe to a megachurch model. It’s not our objective to have 2,000 or 3,000 members.

“Honestly we never anticipated a firestorm to happen,” he added. “We only wanted to provide a church with a family atmosphere.”

The firestorm came about from the disapproval of many residents in The Vineyards at Bennett’s Creek Square Community and an unfinished development called The Cove at Bennett’s Creek Square.

Mary Snyder, president of the homeowners’ association for The Vineyards, was one of two that spoke in opposition of the permit. She said residents were opposed to the size of the facility and were concerned about traffic.

“The structure is three times the size of the current largest building,” Snyder said. “Its height will dwarf the homes, and it will seem out of place. This parking will back up to the property line of The Vineyards’ wrought iron fence.”

Proximity to the homes will cause disturbances from parking as well as the traffic next to the homes, Snyder believes. She also noted that the neighborhood is one way in and one way out, and the increased traffic from the church will cause a difficulty that churchgoers will not have to deal with, because many of them do not reside in the immediate community.

The opposition brought with them Jeffrey Hunn, a lawyer who focuses on litigation, community association law and other types of law.

Hunn said the original declaration of the master association for The Vineyards and The Cove did not allow churches, but that rule changed in 2014 to allow churches if they obtain a conditional use permit.

For rebuttal, Warren Sachs, managing member of Bennett’s Creek Professional Center, spoke passionately about the positive side of having a church on the property.

“It’s a church in your neighborhood,” Sachs said. “They don’t have a right to tell us what to build.”

After the public hearing ended, Councilman Roger Fawcett spoke in opposition to the permit.

“I’ve looked at the details and had discussions with the HOA. I’ve talked to Pastor Hill, but there is an issue with the size,” Fawcett said. “There’s a lot of questions, and some of them didn’t get answered at that meeting. They wanted to have another meeting because they heard the community was in an uproar.”

Fawcett defended the homeowners’ association’s closed meeting due to members of the community needing to “speak freely with their people,” after denying entrance to both Venable and Hill.

“The Vineyards were there first, and this megachurch is the tip of the iceberg,” Fawcett said. “The people that live here, bought property and pay taxes deserve to see something other than a megachurch. When I look at this thing as a whole I can’t support it. You want to put it somewhere else, I’ll wrap my arms around you and love you.”

While Fawcett disapproved of the permit for Riverbend Church, Councilmen Mike Duman and Tim Johnson spoke favorably. Both chastised both parties for their lack of communication during the process prior to the public hearing.

“We can do better than this,” Johnson said. “I’m disturbed by my community.”

“I try to do my homework and be prepared, and after seven years of experience I have never seen this many people show up and no one showed for the Planning Commission meeting,” Duman said. “Without communication, there is no resolution.”

Both also agreed that a church would make a great addition to the neighborhood.

“I’ve never voted against a church, and I don’t think I’m going to start now,” said Councilman Curtis Milteer.

After the vote, Hill expressed happiness for the favorable vote.

“It’s been a long process, and we didn’t anticipate problems. We are pleased, and we will be good neighbors,” Hill said.

Four other public hearings were held on Wednesday evening for City Council to vote on. Three out of the four votes were 8-0 in favor of the rezoning or granting conditional use permits. A rezoning request for a storage facility to be located at 6553 Hampton Roads Parkway, a permit to establish a contractor and trade shop at 3587 White Marsh Road and a rezoning request to add residential units at 7101 Bridgeway Drive all got nods of approval.

Jeffrey and Rennee Townsend requested a conditional use permit to establish a banquet hall at 178 E. Washington St. with an additional request to extend the allowed business hours on Friday and Saturday until 2 a.m.

City Council denied the request to let the business stay open later. Jeffrey Townsend stated the inability to stay open later was a deal breaker, and it is unclear if he will continue with plans to open a banquet hall.

City Council voted 7-1 in favor of the permit without the extension to 2 a.m. Milteer voted in opposition.