Here's a story a sister in the lower 48 emailed me:
Jehovah's Witnesses seek to expand campus in Patterson
By MICHAEL RISINIT
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: , 20)
PATTERSON - The hilltop complex off Route 22 in Patterson that is part of
the global headquarters for about 6 million Jehovah's Witnesses is
running out of room, and the religious group wants to enlarge its
complex.
The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, the legal name of the parent
organization of the Witnesses, has proposed adding about 172,800 square
feet more of office and living space to its campus. The facility is used
as a training center for hundreds of administrators from around the
world. It also houses the graphic arts headquarters of the organization's
Bible-education materials.
"It's kind of an orderly growth we've experienced," said Richard Eldred,
spokesman for the Jehovah's Witnesses facility. "We anticipate increasing
needs as the years go by."
Watchtower representatives will be before the Patterson Zoning Board of
Appeals tonight for a public hearing. Patterson Town Planner Richard
Williams said the group "needs to do a couple of things" to move ahead
with its proposal. The Witnesses have to amend their special permit as it
pertains to parking. Watchtower is also seeking relief from the town's
height ordinance for one of its proposed buildings. The zoning board
meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. in Patterson Town Hall, Routes 311 and 164.
The proposed five new buildings would represent about a 25 percent
increase in the facility's size, which was completed in 1995. Eldred said
the new construction would take about two or three years to complete and
would accommodate the group's needs for at least 10 years.
Plans filed with the Patterson Planning Department show two new residence
buildings, one three stories and the other five; a new four-story office
building, a maintenance building and a three-story addition to the
complex's audio-visual studio on the group's 362 acres. The tallest
proposed structure is 79 feet, 30 feet taller than local zoning codes
permit. The proposal is
expected also to come under review from the town's Planning Board,
Williams said.
Watchtower bought the land, a former dairy farm, along both sides of
Route 22 in 1984 and began construction of the missionary training
complex in 1989. The 28-building complex includes school facilities,
offices and residences to accommodate about 1,200 people. Active in
almost every country in the world, the group has about 1.05 million
members in the United States
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only accomodate their needs for 10 years?? Will we even be here then?
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Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a
garage makes you a mechanic.