Two homes to be demolished as part of settlement

Two old homes in Clarkston at the center of a monthslong lawsuit could come down as soon as next week.

The city gave up its fight with the North American Mission Board to stop the demolition of the homes, which are located on land where the church plans to build a multimillion-dollar complex and ministry center.

C larkston also agreed Wednesday to pay $25,000 to Holland & Knight, the law firm representing the NAMB, which is an arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, according to a copy of the settlement obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

A lawsuit filed in September accused the city of unlawfully halting the proposed development by not approving a demolition permit for two houses the church pur- chased near downtown Clark- ston. Many residents and offi- cials said they wanted the historic homes to be protected.

The NAMB owns the old Clarkston International Bible Church in the small DeKalb city located just outside the Perimeter. The Alpharet- ta-based ministry plans to build a massive new campus spread out across almost four blocks in Clarkston, complete with missionary housing, a training hub, a gym, a play- ground, a pavilion, parking lots and soccer fields.

In December, DeKalb Superior Court Judge Tangela Barrie sided with the church, ordering the city to process the demolition per- mits for the two homes. The city appealed the ruling but ultimately settled.

The city “fought hard to try and preserve two historic homes and I am proud of the courage that the City Council showed in doing so,” Mayor Ted Terry said in a statement. “It will be a sad day when these buildings come down but we hope that this settlement can set the foundation for a cooper- ative relationship with NAMB moving forward.”

Jake Evans, an attorney for the NAMB, said in a statement that the organization is “gratified” by the agree- ment with the city.

Both sides agreed they would not comment publicly beyond their written statements, according to the settlement.