We have an overconcentration of churches': Neighborhood group wants permit for new church denied

Jane Macaulay insists she's "so not opposed to churches" — and yet Macaulay, as president of Woodlake Neighbors Creating Transparency, is asking Sacramento, California, officials to deny a permit for a new church.

Why?

There are too many churches in town as it is, she told KOVR-TV.

"We have an overconcentration of churches right now," Macaulay added to the station.

Image source: KOVR-TV video screenshot

Macaulay claimed there are 18 other churches in the neighborhood, KOVR reported.

Image source: KOVR-TV video screenshot

What does she want instead of a church?

Macaulay told the station she wants a new business on Del Paso Boulevard instead: "Places that we can shop, places that we can eat like all the other neighborhoods have."

That may be a tall order as business closure struggles have hit the thoroughfare in recent years, KOVR said.

What does another neighborhood leader have to say?

Larry Glover-Meade, president of the Woodlake Neighborhood Association, told the station he supports a permit for a church.

Image source: KOVR-TV video screenshot

"For me, it seems like a good use for that property," he told KOVR. "It's not taking away something that could have been used."

Location, location, location (but it's not what you think)

Glover-Meade added to the station that the building that would house the church is at the end of the boulevard in a low-profile spot.

Image source: KOVR-TV video screenshot

"It's immediately adjacent between a warehouse district and an on-ramp," he noted to KOVR. "It's not an ideal property."

Image source: KOVR-TV video screenshot

But it seems that if you build a church in this town, people will come...

"It just seems to be sort of a Mecca for churches," Macaulay remarked to the station about the area. She added, "I think enough on the churches."

Glover-Meade sees it differently: "You can’t always say no to everything," he told KOVR.

While Sacramento city staff is recommending permit approval, the station said the planning commission is set to vote this week.