One Place Church annexation in Hayden 'represents so much more than a building'

HAYDEN — During a Hayden City Council meeting July 9, a 47.9 acre lot was unanimously approved as an annexation site and a new campus location for One Place Church. 

The parcel of land is on the Northwest corner of Prairie and Huetter Road and includes a no-build zone until the route is established for the Huetter Bypass Corridor.  

Rev. Pace Hartfield said the church has been around for about nine years and estimates about 1,300 to 1,500 members depending on the time of year.  

The congregation has been operating out of the former Peak Fitness business in the Prairie Avenue Shopping Center, and the opportunity to have a space where they can expand to fit their needs is exciting. 

“It represents so much more than a building,” Hartfield said. 

Plans for the campus would also include a barn for student events and weddings.   

Council President Matthew Roetter said he loves the idea of churches coming to Hayden and sees it as an extension of the American dream. 

Churches like One Place Church don’t generate tax use to the city, and impact fees would not be required or collected because the site wouldn’t be in the city limits. However, building permit fees and transportation impact fees would be collected through the project.   

Roetter responded to the breakdown of potential fees the city would receive for the project by stating that the value of churches as community anchors is “beyond what any money can do collected in taxes.” 

Steven Syrcle of Tri-State Consulting Engineers presented information on behalf of the church to the City Council. 

“The system will be designed for short-term use before public sewer is available a few years down the road,” Syrcle said. 

One Place Church is in a shared tier of area impact, so the church first went to the county to determine what city codes and regulations they would have to follow. The area falls under the city of Hayden’s purview but also must follow the Post Falls Highway District recommendations.  

The conditions recommended by the planning and zoning commission include a note that the Huetter Bypass Corridor may impact the annexed area, and the church is required to have a setback area if that occurs. 

The parcel of land currently sits in an agricultural zone, and the annexation vote turned the nearly 48 acres of land from a mixed-use zone into a commercial zone for the future church campus.  

The only feature currently on the parcel of land is a wireless cell tower, which will remain after the campus is built. 

Councilman Tom Shafer stated he is excited at the prospect of having a “church family” in the area, but he is wary of growth and its resulting effects on the prairie and the Rathdrum Aquifer.   

“Those are things I would like to champion whenever possible,” said Shafer. 

Shafer framed the fact that much of the property will remain open space for protection of the aquifer as a major selling point of the annexation. 

The first phase of the new church location will be completed in 2026.

    The current location of One Place Church is based in the former Peak Fitness in the Prairie Shopping Center in Hayden.