Will controversial plan for new church, school in South Barrington move forward?
A controversial proposal to build a church and school in South Barrington is on the village board’s agenda Tuesday night.
No extensive debate or public presentation about Schaumburg-based Fourth Avenue Gospel’s plans for the land are expected, however. Rather, trustees will decide if the village’s plan commission, which advises the board on development matters, should review the plans for the site known as Area N.
But it'll be the first time the village board publicly discusses the proposal since Fourth Avenue surreptitiously bought the land earlier this year.
Fourth Avenue’s plans focus on a 34-acre site at Bartlett Road and Route 59. The organization, which is owned and operated by a suburban congregation of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, purchased the wooded site from the South Barrington Park District through a March auction, using a limited liability company it created called Area N Development.
Fourth Avenue representatives didn’t publicly come forward as the owners until April.
That was the second time Fourth Avenue Gospel won an auction for the land. It also had done so in May 2023, but the park district board canceled the sale because of community protests.
Area residents opposed to the plan have cited traffic, the impact on the environment and some of the Plymouth Brethren's practices among their concerns.
In a May 15 letter to Mayor Paula McCombie, Plymouth Brethren member Sam Johnstone said the congregation listened to those comments and changed initial plans.
“The PBCC congregation is committed to being good neighbors and citizens of the South Barrington community,” Johnstone wrote.
The property is zoned as a planned unit development and designated as parkland, as part of the adjacent Woods of South Barrington neighborhood. To build a church and school, Fourth Avenue needs the village board to amend the development plan.
Tuesday’s board meeting is set for 7 p.m. at village hall, 30 S. Barrington Road.
A church representative has said the group hopes construction will begin later this year and conclude by late 2025.