A popular Goleta church is looking to expand, but the size of the proposed building has some neighbors saying their own prayers.

Christian church Anthem Chapel currently meets at Goleta Valley Junior High School, but it wants to build a two-story, 22,038-square-foot church at 6595 Covington Way, next to Christ Lutheran Church and the parking lot for Stow House.

Opponents of the project say the proposed church is too big and would impact neighborhood traffic and safety. They have created a website that raises concerns about the project.

Story poles are up to show the size of the proposed project, which is headed to the Goleta Design Review Board on Aug.12.

The project would include a sanctuary for a 500-person congregation, daycare classrooms for up to 110 children and youth programs, and a 125-space parking lot, according to the project description. Church leaders plan on having three services on Sundays.

“I would hope that we would be a great community resource,” said Nate Wagner, lead pastor at Anthem Chapel. “I would hope that we’d be able to create services and opportunities for the community to be a part of it, to be a blessing.”

Wagner was part of Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara for 20 years. He left in 2017 to start his own church in Goleta. He started Anthem Chapel, and the church began having weekly Sunday services at Goleta Valley Junior High School in January 2018. 

Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

During that period, Anthem held services under a large tent at the project site. Neighbors said they had issues with increased noise and traffic, teenagers pulling ding-dong ditching pranks, and people parking in front of driveways and fire hydrants. 

Kerri Maxwell said she has lived in the neighborhood her whole life and thinks the project is too big for the area.

“I don’t think there’s anything that they could say that would make us feel better, because it’s just too big,” Maxwell said. “It’s not the right spot for what they want. I don’t want all that we have here with Stow House and the lake to be disturbed by this building.”

The project is also near a very high fire risk area, and Maxwell said they are worried about having extra people in the neighborhood during an evacuation.

There also are concerns about protecting Stow House and the environmentally sensitive habitats around the property.

“We’re not against the church, just not on this site,” Maxwell said.

Wagner said he’s saddened by the pushback from neighbors, adding that the church is working with traffic and sound engineers to address noise and traffic issues.

“We want to be a blessing, not a burden,” Wagner said. “We really believe that we can fit well in that site. We do believe that the parking and noise can be solved and mitigated, and we want to do that.” 

When the pandemic struck in 2020 and churches were allowed to have outside services, Anthem Chapel rented the empty piece of land from Christ Lutheran Church at 6595 Covington Way.

Since then, the two churches have entered a lease option, meaning Anthem Chapel has the deed for the property and is paying off the cost over time to Christ Lutheran Church. 

Christ Lutheran Church is expected to stay at the property in its existing building, even when the Anthem Chapel project is completed. 

Christ Lutheran Church Pastor Brooks Schramm said they support Anthem Chapel’s project and are confident that they will address legitimate neighborhood concerns related to the building project.

Schramm added that Christ Lutheran Church is currently celebrating 60 years in the community and is looking forward to many more years ahead.

Steve Welton, a planner for the project with SEPPS Land Use Consulting, said they don’t expect the project to have any impacts to Stow House. They have worked with a historian and architectural historian to ensure that the design complements the ranch and agricultural feel of the neighborhood and Stow House.

“Goleta has an agricultural history. There’s agriculture on the other side of the street,” Welton said. “So, the intention was to make it have an agrarian feel. When you look at the renderings that hopefully comes across.”

The original project description included the right to have two events a year with amplified noise, but Welton said they are taking that out of the proposal for now. 

Anthem Chapel is requesting to be able to hold up to three church services on Sundays. While there is only one service right now, Welton said being able to have three services will allow the church to grow and potentially help with traffic congestion. 

“I think the fears are a little exaggerated, which I understand. I think whenever you don’t know about something, you assume the worst,” Welton said. “But I think it’s going to operate similar to how most churches are going to operate.”

If the plans are approved by the city, Wagner said, they still will need funds to complete the project and plan on launching a capital campaign later down the line.

Note: This story has been updated to include comments from Brooks Schramm that Noozhawk received after the original publication.