By Amanda Raymond

amanda.raymond@salisburypost.com

The Salisbury Planning Board will be making a recommendation today to the Salisbury City Council about a proposed wedding venue at the former site of Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

The meeting will be at 4 p.m. at 217 S. Main St.

The board first discussed the venue at a meeting on March 8. The petitioners, Michael and Lori Dienfenbach, requested a district map amendment for a project called The Abbey. The project would convert Sacred Heart Catholic Church’s property into a wedding venue.

The Bogle Firm Architecture is the project’s developer.

The property is along the west margin of North Fulton Street at West Council Street and extends through to North Ellis Street, according to meeting documents. It is about 1.5 acres.

The Dienfenbachs asked to rezone the property from an urban residential district to a residential mixed-use district with a conditional district overlay in order to operate the wedding venue.

The project has three potential phases. The initial phase could include working on a catering kitchen, along with a sanctuary and reception area. The second phase could include creating a garden house, an on-site manager’s residence and an indoor gathering space with a rooftop terrace. The third phase could include developing a support services center and a bed and breakfast.

Preston Mitchell, the city’s Planning and Development Services manager, said the support services center would have services that support wedding functions, such as a bakery, wedding dress boutique, tuxedo rental store or florist shop.

Mitchell said city staff thought the project was a good adaptive reuse of the property. During the public comment session, some community members said they were worried about certain aspects of the project, specifically issues with parking, lighting and noise.

Board member Bill Burgin said he did not want to dismiss an opportunity to repurpose the property, but the problems brought up by neighbors needed to be addressed.

Burgin suggested that a smaller committee review the proposal with the applicants and any neighbors who wanted to attend in a separate meeting.

At today’s meeting, the committee will make its recommendation to the board. After a discussion, the board will make a statement of consistency and a recommendation to the Salisbury City Council.

Contact reporter Amanda Raymond at 704-797-4222.