After years of moving from one temporary site to another, Calvary Chapel Corvallis has found a home on 56 acres of land near Chip Ross Park off Northwest Highland Drive.

Excavation for the first phase of the church development is complete, and as soon as the county approves a foundation permit, concrete will be poured for a 27,000-square-foot worship center and fellowship hall. Graders are working to prepare a parking lot to accommodate the 600-plus people who attend each Sunday.

It’s an exciting time for the church that has met at the Chintimini Senior Center, Crescent Valley High School and, most recently, the former Westland Middle School since its founding in 1990.

“We’ve been waiting a long time for the right piece of property,” said senior pastor Rob Verdeyen.

The school district has given the church a June 30 deadline to move out of Westland, and if all goes well its new church building will be done in October. During the summer, the congregation will continue a tradition of worshipping outdoors.

Just like a lot of first-time homeowners, however, the church has discovered investing in real estate produces its own challenges.

Five months after Calvary Chapel bought the land at Lester Avenue and Glen Eden Drive for $1.25 million in July 2005, new land-use regulations on part of the property took effect. The changes resulted from the county adopting a “natural features overlay” in partnership with the city.

Nothing in the new rules affects construction of the initial church building on the southwest corner of the property bordering the 125-acre Chip Ross Park. The site, which is within the city’s urban growth boundary, is zoned urban/residential, which allows churches without a conditional-use permit, and the location of the sanctuary is outside protected habitats identified by the natural features overlay, according to the county’s senior planner Greg Verret.

But other areas of the site were newly designated environmentally sensitive and off-limits to development. The natural features include several acres of upland prairie and oak savanna, Verret explained. These are considered vanishing ecosystems in the Willamette Valley that could contain endangered species habitat.

The congregation was already aware of setback rules related to a seasonal stream on the property. They also knew a potential extension of Kings Boulevard would cut off the southeast corner of the land.

The new limitations, however, caught the the church off-guard when the amount of buildable land was cut almost in half, explained church administrator Curt Duever.

“We bought this property with the long view in mind and this was just not what we anticipated for the long term,” he said.

The church filed a Measure 37 claim with the county in July but recently withdrew the claim. Measure 37, approved by voters in 2004, allows property owners to seek government relief or compensation when land-use laws reduce the value of property.

The church withdrew it, Duever said, because “it became evident it was possible to sit down with the county and work on a genuinely win-win situation.”

Both church leaders stressed the church has no interest in seeking financial compensation.

“We love the natural features out there,” Duever said. “It’s a unique piece of property and what you do there really needs to fit in with the area.”

“We love the open space and want to preserve the area,” Verdeyen said. “But we also simply want to be able to use more of the land than the new restrictions say we can.”

The immediate goal is to use part of the upland prairie grassland for a prayer and meditation center. Although not fully designed yet, it might include a central meeting space for up to 75 people, several small cabins set in the woods and a prayer garden.

“The upland prairie has this sweeping, outstanding view of the valley and is a really good place for your soul,” said Duever. It was one of the site’s most attractive features when they walked the property and considered buying it.

Verret understands their concerns.

“The real crux of the issue I think for them is the upland prairie is a sizeable portion and is pretty flat. It looks like it would be really usable space to them,” he said.

He and church leaders have talked about hiring an independent expert to determine if it really is quality upland prairie land. If not, Verret noted, the city and county could amend their maps.

If the property remains protected, the church has until October 2007 to refile its Measure 37 claim.

Another issue is traffic. The only access to the new church building is Lester Avenue, a dead-end street west of Highland Drive that leads into the Chip Ross Park parking lot.

The intersection at Lester and Highland is at the crest of a hill, making it difficult for northbound drivers to see oncoming cars as they turn. Considering the size of the congregation, the congestion on Sunday mornings could be considerable.

The traffic study required by the county concluded the roads could accommodate the extra traffic because the high-peak use by the congregation does not coincide with other high-peak periods, such as before and after school or during events at Crescent Valley High School.

More traffic and other issues have some of the church’s neighbors concerned.

Marjean Austin has lived on Lester Avenue for 16 years, and she opposes the church’s plans.

“It’s just not compatible with the surrounding neighborhood,” she said.

She is especially concerned about the impact on the ambience of Chip Ross Park.

Austin shared her concerns during a neighborhood meeting hosted by Calvary Chapel in October. She believes there are safety issues associated with the church driveway located next to the park’s entrance, where hikers, bikers, horse riders and children travel in and out of the park.

“There will be immediate and severe impacts to Chip Ross Park, including noise, light pollution from the church parking lot, loss of the natural setting, vehicle access to the park due to increased traffic and increased fire risk due to population density,” she said.

If she had to choose between the church or residential development in the area, she would choose another housing development because there would be less traffic and impact on the neighborhood, she said. But her preference would be neither.

“My point is that any development on this particular property should be minimal and not interfere with the Chip Ross Park ecosystem,” she said.

“I love the land and I love the animals and creatures. I want other people to be able to see and share the same sights I’ve enjoyed for 16 years.”

Verret noted the zoning doesn’t give citizens much say about construction of the church itself, but as Calvary Chapel seeks to expand its campus, some elements of those plans might require a conditional-use permit which would allow for more public input.

Duever said the congregation is going to great lengths to address critics’ concerns and minimize the impact on the park, including stemming lighting and sound coming from the church. An arborist is helping to protect as many trees as possible and landscaping will be designed to maintain the natural topography.

“We’re spending money to do it well,” Duever said, “but to lead people to believe it’ll be perfect wouldn’t be accurate either.”