A Church Wanted a $2 Million Temple on a Residential Road. The Planners Said the Area Didn’t Need It

• Berea Seventh-day Adventist Church in West Bay, Cayman, planned a $2 million temple
• Planners refused it, and the Planning Appeals Tribunal upheld the decision
• The tribunal said the church had not shown community need in a residential zone
• A nearby Adventist church held 500 people but had only 300 members

A growing Seventh-day Adventist congregation in the Cayman Islands lost its bid in November 2020 to build a $2 million church on a residential road, Cayman News Service reported. The Berea Seventh-day Adventist Church had applied to build a new temple with a baptismal pool on Townhall Road in West Bay. The Central Planning Authority (CPA) refused permission, and the Planning Appeals Tribunal dismissed the church’s appeal.

The congregation, about 150 strong, had been meeting at a temporary site at West Bay Primary School and wanted a permanent home. Its pastor, Maurice Chambers, argued that it needed its own building even though other Adventist churches were close by, because “each of the SDA temples had a religious culture of their own.” The application also had the backing of the area’s representative, Speaker McKeeva Bush.

Neighbouring residents objected. There were already two other churches in what was described as a congested area, and a new Adventist church on West Church Street stood about a mile away. The tribunal also heard that an existing Adventist church nearby could seat 500 people but had a congregation of 300. There are about 17 Adventist churches across the islands.

Under Cayman’s planning rules, a church proposed in a residential zone must show that it serves the needs of the community. The tribunal found the church had “failed to demonstrate that a religious temple in the location of this project would serve the needs of the community”, and added that religious needs do not override development criteria set by planning law. “The CPA did not act unreasonably,” it concluded.

Jamaica has its own long list of churches in residential areas, and neighbours’ complaints about noise, parking and traffic are familiar. The Cayman case is a reminder that faith does not exempt a building project from planning law, and that a congregation’s growth is not the same as a community’s need. Any Jamaican church, or diaspora group, buying land to build should check the zoning and speak with the local municipal corporation before paying for plans, not after.

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