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By Zac Monnier

I am not classically trained as a city planner or engineer, but I have spent years of my life studying what makes a community thrive…and what might suffocate it. Whole Truth International Ministries is asking for the city council to approve rezoning from R-2 to Institutional. In my letter today, I argue for approval of this request and explain why restrictive zoning has a deleterious effect on this city’s future.

But before I go on about the future, let’s address the past. Whole Truth Ministries didn’t build these buildings; Central Baptist Church did. Founded in 1897, this congregation was indeed at the center of town. Like many other congregations of the time, they planted their church on Lee Street, an arterial roadway of a booming city. The rise of the automobile led to a huge surface asphalt parking lot being laid behind their church and, eventually, took Central Baptist out of the heart of Americus to its very edges.

Zoning, as we know it today, started decades after Central Baptist Church was first built. I attempted to get in touch with leaders of that church to learn more about the rational behind their move and ask if zoning restrictions had anything to do with it. Unfortunately, I was not able to garner any comments from them using the channels I tried. I will just note here that their current property is entirely Institutional zoning today. If not for Whole Truth Ministries purchase of the property, time’s steady march of decay would likely have led to the complete erasure of Central Baptist’s legacy in the heart of the city.

We have plenty of examples of other built legacies going to pot in this town. At 407 S Jackson St, the city owns what used to be the Furlow Grammar School. This school, the namesake of College St, continues to deteriorate in an R-2 zone of the city. If ever a developer was willing to consider historical preservation and adaptation, they would need a variance for that, too. Overly restrictive zoning causes undue expense to redevelopment and may cause interested parties to make use of their money elsewhere. This is why I have little hope for the Old Americus High School.

Then there are the examples of historic preservation that keep to the zoning uses prescribed but help only the wealthiest of our citizenry. The Sumter Historic Trust, of which I am a member, has done a great many things to preserve the historic character of Americus. They will be the first to tell you: preservation is expensive. Their current project at 301 W College St is another private residence taken on by the Trust with the plan of selling it on the open market once repairs are complete. They have raised tens of thousands of dollars to restore what will be, once it is finished, just another pretty house for a single family with the means to own it.

Historic preservation should not be the domain and benefit of just the wealthy. Whole Truth Ministries is working to preserve a great legacy and find new ways to bring life to its halls for far more than just a single family. Why must they go through a public trial to restore this space while others can spend fortunes with little fanfare or notice?

Loosening zoning restrictions from R-2 to Institutional won’t cause the character of the neighborhood to fall apart. Look at Rudy’s Happy Patch, Georgia Southwestern University, and Magnolia Manor for examples of thriving enterprises bringing health and services to the households all around them.

I have heard some opponents express their concerns that Institutional rezoning would allow some other entity to – one day in an undefined future – tear down the church and use it for disruptive ends. The truth of the matter is much more dire. If Whole Truth Ministries cannot make full use of the parcel they have purchased, they will not stay here for very long. The upkeep of such a massive complex is quite great. Unless they can prove the resources are worth having, Whole Truth Ministries will probably divest from this space, leaving it to rot or be bought up by the next schmuck ignorant of the restrictions placed upon the property. The boogeyman opponents fear should not keep Whole Truth Ministries from using their space as they want to.

Do I wish Whole Truth Ministries had a more concrete plan of their use of the space? Sure! I am excited to see what they want to do and how they hope to serve this community. Should that be a requirement for them to invite the vulnerable and needy inside? Absolutely not! That is their mandate as Christians.

Unfortunately, zoning has long be used as a tool for elements of our society motivated not by religion, but by racism and classism. As I have clearly demonstrated, historical preservation is fine if it benefits the high class. As for race…Central Baptist is a majority white congregation who built in a majority white historic district while Whole Truth Ministries is majority Black.

We must remember the full history we seek to preserve as we plan for the future. It is right and good to reuse buildings for our society’s present needs. If zoning gets in the way of that, it needs to change.