City Rebuffs Church's Effort to Site Regional Headquarters

RIDGEFIELD, WA-Clark County commissioners last week rejected the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s request to build its regional headquarters on unincorporated agricultural land it owns near here. In a 2-to-1 vote, the commisioners ruled that while they can supercede zoning laws for a traditional place of worship, it cannot do the same for an administration center.

Clark County’s rules prohibit offices in agricultural zones, and the 39,500-sf structure apparently doesn’t fit Clark County’s definition of a church. Commissioner Betty Sue Morris was the dissenting vote. She argued that everybody in the center will be worshipping and that the definition of a “church” should be expanded. The church’s board has not yet decided whether to appeal the decision to Clark County Superior Court. The Adventists’ Portland headquarters serves five states, 85,000 members, 400 churches and numerous schools. The church sold its building last year to purchase the Ridgefield-area property because of its proximity to the airport, church members and employees. It apparently wasn’t savvy enough, however, to make the sale contingent upon the city’s approval of its project, a stipulation that is standard fare in the professional development community.