Plans for controversial church, school in South Barrington move ahead for village review
Controversial plans to build a church and school in South Barrington moved forward at village hall Tuesday night, officials confirmed.
The village board referred the proposal, which focuses on a 34-acre site at Bartlett Road and Route 59 known as Area N, to the plan commission for review at an unspecified future meeting. The commission advises the board on development-related issues.
A Schaumburg-based group called Fourth Avenue Gospel that’s owned and operated by a suburban congregation of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church wants to build the facility. It purchased the land earlier this year from the South Barrington Park District for $2.3 million through a limited liability company, which allowed the group to avoid publicly identifying itself as the buyer until after the deal was finalized.
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.
The property is zoned as a planned unit development and designated as parkland. To build a church and school, Fourth Avenue needs the village board to amend the development plan.
A church representative has said the group hopes construction will begin later this year and conclude by late 2025.
The village board didn’t discuss the proposal Tuesday night, nor was there any public comment about it, Mayor Paula McCombie said in an email Wednesday.