In a special meeting June 29, Sumner City Council continued a quasi-judicial hearing from June 15, but was unable to reach a decision.

The city received appeals from citizens about the Calvary Community Church expansion and is continuing to decide whether the hearing examiner’s decision to grant the expansion is valid. The decision is invalid only if it was erroneous.

Council started proceedings on the 29th and left council chambers to go into closed session, telling members of the public in attendance they would return in approximately 25 minutes. Following this period, council needed more time to deliberate. The public was told several more times council was still in closed session and shortly after 9 p.m., just more than two hours after the session began, council returned to chambers.

Council member Leroy Goff made a motion to continue the discussion at the July 20 and the motion passed.

A Feb. 20 hearing resulted in the hearing examiner granting Calvary Community Church the right to expand its facility located at Gary Street East in Sumner.

Stephen Causseaux, the hearing examiner who presided over a public hearing in February about the expansion plan, granted the conditional use permit and height exception.

The church, located at 1516 Gary Street in Sumner will add a two-story sanctuary covering approximately 37,000 square feet of land, increase the number of parking spaces to 840, and make improvements to utilities. Later phases of the project may involve expanding the sanctuary, adding an education center, member services center, chapel, school building expansion, administrative office expansion and a kitchen renovation and expansion, amongst other improvements.

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