Church’s ‘spiritual recovery’ plan withdrawn

Preston pastors say program proposal had become too costly and very complicated

Preston — After working with town planners for more than a year crafting proposed zoning regulations to allow a religious-based residential crisis recovery program on church property, the pastors of the Preston Church of the Nazarene have requested to withdraw the application.

Pastors Rick and Sherry Nason asked Town Planner Kathy Warzecha to withdraw the proposed zoning regulation change that was scheduled for a public hearing and vote Tuesday by the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Sherry Nason said Tuesday that the proposal was becoming too complicated, too expensive and involved too many zoning, building code and health regulations.

The church, located at 128 Route 2, cannot afford the project, she said.

“After talking to her (Warzecha), and all the expenses it’s going to entail, we just got discouraged,” Sherry Nason said. “... When she laid out everything on what you have to do, we just have no money.”

She said one of the obstacles was a question of whether the property well and septic system could handle the added load.

The Nasons had proposed creating a “spiritual recovery program” that would house up to 10 women at a time in an intense religious study and prayer program for 12 to 24 months.

The proposed regulations would have prohibited drug and alcohol treatment from taking place at the site. The program was to be designed as a post-treatment recovery program, the pastors had said.

The commission opened a public hearing on the plan in May and continued the discussion in June, postponing action for additional discussion and possible revision.

The regulation was written to apply to any church in town in operation for at least five years and located on a state route for easy access and transportation.

It would have allowed such churches to seek a special permit, with a public hearing, on any specific proposed spiritual recovery programs.

The Nasons originally had planned to apply for the special permit within a year and to raise money to renovate the lower level of the church into several bedrooms, a classroom, music room and social spaces.

“Maybe if we get an inheritance or something,” Sherry Nason said of the project’s cost.