A $2.1 Million Site, a Denied Rezoning and a Federal Lawsuit: A Megachurch Fights a North Carolina County

• The Summit Church bought a mostly wooded site on U.S. 15-501 in Chatham County, North Carolina, for $2.1 million.
• It plans an 82,000-square-foot building with 1,200 seats.
• County commissioners unanimously denied the rezoning in December 2024, citing tax base, jobs and traffic.
• Summit sued under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act; a federal judge temporarily blocked the denial in June 2025.

A large evangelical church and a North Carolina county are fighting in federal court over a planned campus. INDY Week reported on the battle between the Summit Church and Chatham County.

Summit, led by former Southern Baptist Convention president J.D. Greear, has about 13,000 attendees across 13 locations and annual revenue of $65.9 million. Its Chapel Hill congregation of about 800 meets at East Chapel Hill High School. The church bought a mostly wooded site on U.S. 15-501 near Briar Chapel Road, about 13 miles to the south, closing on the $2.1 million purchase in August 2025. It plans an 82,000-square-foot building with 1,200 seats and future event space. The project was expected to generate 669 trips on weekdays and 2,768 on Sundays.

Summit asked for the land to be rezoned to a conditional office and institutional district. The planning board recommended denial, and county commissioners unanimously rejected the rezoning in December 2024, citing a lack of tax base diversity, too few jobs and traffic. Commissioner Karen Howard said the amount of traffic was “not something that I think is interesting or compelling to me as a board member.” Summit Chapel Hill pastor Eric Gravelle said: “We want to be a presence in the community, and having a space that’s only available to us on Sundays makes that challenging for us.”

Summit sued in February 2025 under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. In June 2025 Federal Judge William L. Osteen Jr. temporarily blocked the county’s denial, and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals scheduled arguments for October 27. The church is backed by, among others, attorneys general from more than 13 states and the US Department of Justice.

Counties often prefer land uses that add to the tax base, and a tax-exempt church campus does not. Jamaican congregations planning large new campuses should expect planners to ask about traffic, jobs and local benefit, and should be ready with answers. Owning land without secure planning approval carries risk, as Summit’s long legal fight shows. Where possible, a purchase conditional on approval can protect a church from owning land it cannot use.

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