A Deed Said ‘Only to Another Church.’ Then Came a Plan for 68 Townhomes

• First Baptist Church of Palm River, Florida, founded in 1926, merged with Bell Shoals Baptist Church of Brandon in 2013.
• Before the merger, Palm River’s trustees added a deed restriction barring sale except to another church; lifting it required 100 per cent member approval.
• Bell Shoals closed the seven-acre campus in 2022; the restriction was removed in April 2023 by what was described as a unanimous vote.
• Bell Shoals then applied to rezone the site, appraised at about $2.6 million, for a 68-townhome Lennar development.

Former members of a small Florida church are asking how land they protected for church use ended up in line for a townhome development. ABC Action News in Tampa reported that members of First Baptist Church of Palm River are questioning a megachurch’s sale of the property.

First Baptist Church of Palm River was founded in 1926 and had a seven-acre campus with three buildings. In 2013 it merged with Bell Shoals Baptist Church of Brandon and became a satellite campus. Before the merger, Palm River’s trustees placed a restrictive covenant on the deed barring sale of the property except to another church. Lifting the restriction required 100 per cent member approval.

Bell Shoals closed the Palm River campus in March 2022. On April 19, 2023 the restrictions were removed through what was described as a unanimous vote, and the property was transferred to Bell Shoals. In November 2023 Bell Shoals applied to rezone the site, appraised at about $2.6 million, for a 68-unit townhome development by Lennar.

Former members dispute that a unanimous vote took place, saying they were not notified of any meeting. Robert Almand, a member for more than 60 years, said: “It wasn’t rescinded by our congregation, that’s for sure.” A statement from the law firm Carlton Fields said: “The lifting of the use restriction followed a process approved both by legal counsel and by First American Title Insurance Company.”

Church mergers can move land from one congregation’s control to another’s, and restrictions written to protect it are only as strong as the process for removing them. Jamaican congregations considering a merger or a transfer of land to a larger body should be clear about who will own the property, what it can be used for and how any decision to sell will be made. Buyers and developers, in turn, should look closely at the history of any church land before relying on a title.

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