I have a few concerns regarding the idea of a compromise with a scaled down version as follows:
1. any agreement could be subsequently challenged and it would be up to the town to defend itself in court without the benefit of the current agilent tax revenues or possibly Marci Hamilton. The reverend will not be content to stay small. If there's a will, there's a way and the reverend has the will.
2. any compromise giving them less land could be offset by them building a parking garage and/or adding stories to buildings. RLUIPA would be invoked if the future application were turned down.
3. One possibility being discussed is to share the site with a new middle school. Do we really want a potential drug rehab facility or prisoner probation counseling facility located next to a school?
I would think that if the town couldn't win a legal fight now with $630,000 in yearly agilent tax revenues and Marci Hamilton it certainly wouldn't prevail later on. Furthermore, a protacted legal battle would almost certainly result in CC's contract with agilent expiring, in which case this nasty project goes away.
For the reasons stated above, I believe that it makes absolute no sense at all to allow the megachurch to get its foot in the door.
Don't forget that CC is a religious group AND SO MUCH MORE. Religion is only part of the story. There is a very large business component run by an intelligent individual with a strong desire to grow and the resources to accomplish that task. Underestimating this individual or his ability to hire the best legal talent available to circumvent any compromise in the long term would be a mistake.
It is sad that you feel the need to be on guard when it comes to CC. But have you ever thought about why you feel this way? Have you ever had a conversation with Pastor Ireland or anyone that attends CC? Or have you allowed the vitriolic voices of the oppostion to frame your understanding of the nature of this group?
It is absolutely prudent to be on guard about this project and the reverend. The man has shown by his actions and testimony before the planning board to be less than forthright about the megachurch. He has been withholding of his growth projections.
It is totally unrealistic to expect that an obviously savvy business person such as he would make a commitment to spend tens of millions of dollars without having done some projections. Growth is the whole point of the application and if he gets his foot in the door he will do his best to grow in the future. Nobody attempts to buy a site of this size not to grow.
A foot in the door for this individual would be a big mistake.
