Dispute between church, Laurelhurst residents continues

Residents living along Laurelhurst Circle were outraged after trees were cleared on the greenbelt separating the residents from St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church back in 2016. More recently, as a dispute over expansion work at the church continues to simmer, some neighborhood residents spoke out against a church request to move two storage sheds on the property. less Residents living along Laurelhurst Circle were outraged after trees were cleared on the greenbelt separating the residents from St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church back in 2016. More recently, as a dispute ... more Photo: Michael Minasi, Photographer Photo: Michael Minasi, Photographer Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Dispute between church, Laurelhurst residents continues 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

The ongoing rancor of some the residents of the Laurelhurst neighborhood in The Woodlands over expansion work at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church continues to simmer, with the latest dispute involving the location of two storage sheds being debated at a meeting of The Woodlands Township Development Standards Committee.

The church, located on Bay Branch Drive, has been the subject of neighborhood opposition on a number of issues since ground was broken on a master expansion project nearly two years ago.

The ongoing expansion of St. Anthony's includes a 350-seat chapel, an expanded parking lot, an outreach facility, a sports field and more. Opposition to the work sparked Sunday morning protests in August of 2016 after workers cut down trees in a greenbelt that separates the church and its expanding development from residents living along Laurelhurst Circle.

Since the trees were cut down in 2016, the issue has continued to simmer, with neighbors more recently complaining about the beams from the headlights of cars and from the lights from towers that rise above the expanded parking lot shining into their homes at night and in the early morning.

Even after a fence was built to block the headlight beams, neighbors complained at a DSC meeting in November, 2017, that light beams were still filtering through gaps in the fence. As a result of those continued complaints, DSC members voted unanimously during their Nov. 15, 2017, meeting to have a full-length picket, or slats, installed on the inside of the fence to prevent any light from shining through.

More debate on the work continued during a meeting of the DSC Wednesday night, Feb. 7, when Laurelhurst resident Dennis Carmichael, who has complained a number of times to the DSC and to township board members about the work at the church, appeared in front of the committee again. This time Carmichael asked committee members to deny a variance request by the church seeking to move two sheds from one area on the property to another.

Carmichael said if the move was allowed, at least one of the sheds would be placed against a fence at the back of the church's property, making the structures visible from his home and other homes in the neighborhood.

"There's not even enough vegetation in the back of that greenbelt for us not looking out from our windows and seeing that additional structure," Carmichael said, referring to the trees that had been previously been cut down.

"This is year three of dealing with St. Anthony's Church, trying to walk a thin line between what they say is temporary and then later they say they want to make it permanent," Carmichael added.

Also appearing in front of the DSC at the Feb. 7 meeting was the facilities manager for St. Anthony's, Janine Braun, who reminded the committee that church representatives had been appearing in front of the DSC on a number of matters, dating back to December 2015.

"We would like to put them in that alternate location, or we'll be prepared to place them as you see them in our original plans that were approved on numerous occasions by the committee," Braun said of the sheds, seeming a bit exasperated over the matter.

During discussion of the issue, DSC Member John Anthony Brown, who also sits on the township's Board of Directors, questioned the need for a move to a location near the fence.

"I think that the Laurelhurst residents have been more than accommodating for some of the other visibility issues," Brown said. "And I think the structure doesn't need to be here."

After additional discussion, the DSC voted unanimously to approve the location of one of the sheds at its current location within the church complex, but only if its white trim was painted brown to match the rest of the shed. As for the second shed, the committee voted unanimously against its relocation.

After the committee's decision, neighborhood resident Tommaso Esmanech, who also spoke out during the meeting against allowing the variance, said the committee's vote took into consideration the "overall impact to the residents."

"I think it's a step in the right direction, but we still need trees," Esmanech said, referring to the trees that had been cut down.

Esmanech also said he had a meeting with church officials to discuss the overall expansion plans.

Braun declined to comment on the committee's decision.