GraceLife Church denied expansion permit over parking concerns

Fence surrounded GraceLife Church in Parkland County west of Edmonton by the early morning of April 7, 2021.

GraceLife Church will not be expanding after its development permit was revoked by Parkland County.

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The church, located on Range Road 262 in Spruce Grove, was issued the permit in November for an expansion that included a new sanctuary building, 13 new classrooms and a gymnasium.

The expansion would bring the total number of people able to fit in the church from 348 to 1,822, with a total capacity of 2,200 people site-wide.

GraceLife was the site of multiple public protests after the area was locked by health authorities and police because the church defied a closure order for violating COVID-19 public health orders around occupancy, physical distancing and mask wearing in 2021.

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Two separate appeals to the development were filed in January.

A report from the Parkland County Subdivision and Development Appeal Board revoked the permit on Wednesday due to concerns in those appeals over parking.

It said the 409 parking stalls included in the expansion would not be enough, even if four people came in each car.

Because Range Road 262 is a rural road with no significant shoulder, and on which parking is not allowed, it worried insufficient parking space would cause issues for other road users.

“The absence of public transit, and the absence of any type of shuttle service means that attendees will drive to the lands,” the report read. “Once there, the vehicles will have to be parked someplace for the duration of the service.

“There was no other evidence before the board as to where those vehicles would go on site and although there was an assurance that overflow parking could be found, the board was not satisfied with this generalized assurance, particularly in light of the potential number of vehicles which would need to be parked.”