Episode 591: Church Plant Location Zoning and Other Issues

In Episode 591 of the NewChurches Q&A Podcast, Daniel and Ed discuss zoning issues surrounding finding a location for a church plant.

“I’m a realtor in North Idaho and was approached by a client who wants to start a church. I took him to a local mall and we found some space that was perfect for the project, but when we went to mall management we were told we could not use the space because an anchor store had a contract that limited houses of worship from being able to use the rest of the mall. Is there anything we can do? Is this confrontable?”

In This Episode, You’ll Discover:

  • How zoning can affect church location options
  • How enclosed malls and strip malls are different options

 Shareable Quotes (#NewChurches):

  • “There are very specific rules and laws that keep churches from being zoned out of different areas.” – @edstetzer
  • “It is specifically restricted for places of worship because they do not collaboratively create foot traffic for the benefit of the other tenants in the mall.” – @edstetzer
  • “In some places three are certain activities that take place in a mall, like restaurants that serve alcohol, and in some zoning areas you can’t serve alcohol within a certain distance of a church.” – @edstetzer
  • “There are valid business reasons why people would be less than enthusiastic about letting a church in.” – @edstetzer
  • “There may be zoning issues around how close a restaurant that serves alcohol can be to a church.” – @edstetzer
  • “It would be helpful to be in a strip mall with external doors.” – @edstetzer

Recommended Resources:

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This Episode’s Sponsor:

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Published May 6, 2021

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