Church of Scientology - Ethercatalley.ethercat.com/info/SandySpringsChurchOfScientologyParking.pdf · 3.2 Existing Church of Scientology – City of Nashville, Tennessee Site The

Parking Evaluation

Church of ScientologyCity of Sandy Springs, Georgia

Prepared for:Dillard and Galloway, LLC

Prepared by:Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.Norcross, Georgia

Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.June 2009019311003

Parking Evaluation

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

1.0 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 1

2.0 REASON FOR EVALUATION ................................................................................................. 1

3.0 SCOPE OF PARKING EVALUATION ..................................................................................... 2

3.1 Existing Church of Scientology – City of Dunwoody, Georgia Site ................................. 3

3.2 Existing Church of Scientology – City of Nashville, Tennessee Site ................................ 4

3.3 Parking Required for previous Church Petitions .............................................................. 6

4.0 COMPARISON BETWEEN NASHVILLE AND SANDY SPRINGS SITES ............................. 8

5.0 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................... 9

5.1 Recommendations........................................................................................................... 9

APPENDIX

Church of Scientology – Site Plan – Sandy Springs

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LIST OF FIGURESFollowing

Page

Figure 1: Site Location, Proposed City of Sandy Springs Site ........................................................ 1

Figure 2: Aerial Image, Proposed City of Sandy Springs Site ........................................................ 1

Figure 3: Site Location, Existing City of Dunwoody Site ............................................................... 3

Figure 4: Aerial Image, Existing City of Dunwoody Site ............................................................... 3

Figure 5: Site Location, Existing City of Nashville Site ................................................................. 4

Figure 6: Aerial Image, Existing City of Nashville Site ................................................................. 4

LIST OF TABLESPage

Table 1: Parking Required by the City of Sandy Springs .............................................................. 2

Table 2: Church of Scientology, Parking Demand – Dunwoody Site ............................................ 3

Table 3: Church of Scientology, Parking Demand – Nashville Site ............................................... 5

Table 4: Previous Church Petitions for City of Sandy Springs ...................................................... 6

Table 5: Previous Church Petitions for Fulton County .................................................................. 7

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

The proposed development (Church of Scientology) will consist of an approximate 43,246 SF building

and will be located at the northeast corner of Roswell Road (SR 9) and Glenridge Drive in the City of

Sandy Springs, Georgia. It should be noted that the site is currently occupied by an existing 32,053 SF

of vacant office building. The proposed church will enclose approximately 11,193 SF of space that

serves as its underground parking area. While this will increase the overall square footage of the

building, it will also eliminate 30 existing parking spaces. The site is currently served by 111 parking

spaces. With the loss of the 30 parking spaces, the site will have 81 spaces remaining. The site is

currently zoned O-I (Office and Institutional District) conditional. The proposed zoning will be O-I

(Office and Institutional District) to allow for a church in the existing building. Figure 1 illustrates the

location of the proposed site. Figure 2 illustrates an aerial image of the proposed site. A copy of the

proposed site plan is in the Appendix.

Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. has been retained to perform a parking evaluation for this proposed

church to determine the number of parking spaces needed to serve the church at the proposed Sandy

Springs site. This report summarizes the data collection, analysis of data, and conclusions from the

analysis.

2.0 REASON FOR EVALUATION

Based on City of Sandy Springs parking requirements, a church or other place of worship is required to

provide 1 parking space per 3.5 fixed seats in the largest assembly area, or 1 space per 30 SF in the

largest assembly area. Based on this code requirement, the Sandy Springs Church of Scientology site

would be required to provide 41 spaces (1,218 SF / 30 SF).

However, the City of Sandy Springs “Conclusion to Findings” Staff Report dated for Rezoning Petition

Number RZ09-001/CV09-003 made the recommendation that 148 parking spaces would be required to

serve the proposed church and associated 11,193 SF expansion. This was based on a 1,218 SF

sanctuary, 11,153 SF classroom space, and 17,065 SF office space. The City’s calculation is

summarized in Table 1.

Figure1

Church of ScientologyParking Evaluation

Site LocationSandy Springs

NOT TOSCALE

ProposedSite

Figure2


Aerial ImageSandy Springs

NOT TOSCALE

ProposedSite

Ros

wel

l Roa

d

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Table 1Parking Required by the City of Sandy Springs

Use Parking Ratio Building Area Required ParkingSanctuary 1 space / 30 SF 1,218 SF 41 spacesClassroom 5 spaces / 1,000 SF 11,153 SF 56 spaces

Office 3 spaces / 1,000 SF 17,065 SF 51 spaces

Total Required Parking: 148 spacesParking Provided: 81 spaces

Parking Deficit: 67 spaces

Based on Table 1, the City staff has suggested that the site at full build-out would not provide the

minimum number of parking spaces required per code. The City staff “recommends the total building

area be limited to 32,053 square feet unless the applicant receives a variance from the minimum parking

requirements or can demonstrate a reduction is warranted due to the operation of use such that parking

spaces could be shared”. The City staff has also stated that “the entire 43,246 square feet could be

recommended for approval by staff if the applicant can demonstrate that the on-site parking will be

sufficient to meet the full use of the proposed building including the expansion through either a parking

study or shared-parking analysis”.

3.0 SCOPE OF PARKING EVALUATION

In order to determine the number of parking spaces that should be provided to the Church of

Scientology site, the following scope was performed:

Determine parking demand for the existing City of Dunwoody Church of Scientology site.

Determine parking demand for the existing City of Nashville Church of Scientology site.

Determine parking required for previous Church petitions in Sandy Springs and Fulton County.

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3.1 Existing Church of Scientology – City of Dunwoody, Georgia Site

The existing Church of Scientology is located at 4480 Shallowford Road in the City of Dunwoody,

Georgia. The church currently utilizes the ground floor of a 2-story building. The 2nd floor is currently

being leased by general office uses that are not associated with the Church of Scientology. The Church

currently utilizes 11,500 SF. Also, 2 additional buildings are located adjacent to the Church of

Scientology building. One building is being utilized by general office tenants, while the other building

is an assisted living facility. Figure 3 illustrates the location of the existing Dunwoody site. Figure 4

illustrates an aerial image of the existing Dunwoody site. Based on conversations with Church of

Scientology personnel, the peak parking demand for weekday and weekend was determined. Based on

the anticipated peak parking demand, a site visit was performed to determine the number of parking

spaces being utilized by vehicles associated with the Church of Scientology. It’s important to note that

the parking field used by the Church of Scientology is a shared parking area that is also used by the

office uses noted above. However, due to the time periods where parking demand was observed, these

office uses were closed.

During the field observations the number of parking spaces being utilized during the peak demand was

noted as well as the number of people present within the building. Table 2 summarizes the number of

parking spaces utilized and the number of people present at the church during the peak periods of

operation.

Table 2Church of Scientology

Parking Information

Dunwoody Site – 11,500 SF

Time Frame Number of People in the building Number of parking spaces utilized

Weekday, 8:00 PM 30 22

Saturday, 4:30 PM 18 16

Sunday, 11:00 AM 15 14

Sunday, 2:00 PM 21 20

- Field observations performed on June 18, 20, and 21.

Figure3


Site LocationCity of Dunwoody

NOT TOSCALE

ExistingSite

Figure4


Aerial ImageCity of Dunwoody

NOT TOSCALE

Existing Site(1st floor)

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Based on Table 2, the parking rate for the Dunwoody site during the peak parking demand is 1 space

per 522 SF (11,500 SF / 22). It is important to be cautious with this information as the Dunwoody site

location is currently operating over-capacity, which could cause a skew in the results. Additionally,

based on conversations with staff officials, they are currently fully utilizing all current space.

One additional point of note is the weekly course attendance experienced at the Dunwoody site over the

past 5 months. In the Appendix is a spreadsheet that notes the number of people attending classes each

day. While reviewing these tables, it’s important to note that it is typical for many people to attend

multiple class sessions per day and therefore could be double or triple counted each day.

From a review of the table, the average weekly attendance from February through May was

approximately 150 people per week. The weekly course attendance during the parking observation

was approximately 137 people that week. This equates to a 10% reduction in class attendance while the

field observations were performed (versus the previous average over 4 months). However, the number

of staff personnel was similar over this timeframe.

3.2 Existing Church of Scientology – City of Nashville, Tennessee Site

The existing Church of Scientology is located at 1130 8th Avenue South in City of Nashville,

Tennessee. The church currently utilizes a stand-alone building that is located on the northeast

quadrant of 8th Avenue South and Chestnut Street. No other uses occupy the building and the parking is

not shared with other uses. The Church currently utilizes 38,000 SF (36,000 SF plus a 2,000 SF side

building). The parking provided is 114 spaces (area 1 includes 82 parking spaces, and area 2 includes

32 parking spaces). Figure 5 illustrates the location of the existing Nashville site. Figure 6 illustrates

an aerial image of the existing Nashville site. It should be noted that the Church of Scientology moved

into an existing building with the current 114 spaces already provided. Based on City of Nashville

parking requirements, the Nashville site is located in an Urban Zoning Overlay District. That reduces

the requirement to 1 parking space per 6 seats in the worship area or 1 space per 100 square feet in

worship areas without seats. The normal zoning requirement would be 1 space per 4 seats in the

sanctuary or equivalent worship space. Based on City of Nashville code, and Nashville’s sanctuary

being 1,782 SF, 18 spaces would be required if within the Urban Zoning Overlay District and 27 spaces

if not within the Urban Zoning Overlay District.

Figure5


Site LocationNashville

NOT TOSCALE

ExistingSite

Figure6


Aerial ImageNashville

NOT TOSCALE

8thAv

enue

(US

31)

I-65

Existing Site

AREA 1

AREA 2

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Based on conversations with Church of Scientology personnel, the peak parking demand for weekday

and weekend was determined. Based on the anticipated peak parking demand, a site visit was

performed to determine the number of parking spaces being utilized by vehicles associated with the

Church of Scientology. During the field observations the number of parking spaces being utilized

during the peak demand was noted as well as the number of people present within the building.

Table 3 summarizes the number of parking spaces utilized and the number of people present at the

church during the peak periods of operation.

Table 3Church of Scientology

Parking Information

Nashville Site – 38,000 SF

Time Frame Number of People in the Building Number of parking spaces utilized

Weekday, 8:00 PM 71 36

Saturday, 4:30 PM 53 29

Sunday, 11:00 AM 64 41

Sunday, 2:00 PM 65 38

- Field observations performed on June 18, 20, and 21.

Based on Table 3, the parking rate for the Nashville site during the peak parking demand is 1 space per

927 SF (38,000 / 41).

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3.3 Parking Required for previous Church Petitions

From 2001-2009, several church related petitions have been considered by the City of Sandy Springs

and Fulton County. The following table summarizes the type of development being proposed as well

as the parking requirements recommended by staff. Table 4 and Table 5 summarize this information.

Table 4

Previous Church Petitions for City of Sandy Springs

Case # Project Description Parking Requirements

U09-001/U09-002/U09-007

Add a 2,000 SF addition to anexisting church, expand enrollment inthe existing private school, andestablish a day care facility.

- 1 parking space per 3.5 fixed seats forchurch uses

- 1.7 spaces per 1,000 SF of Day CareSpace plus one stall per every 4employees on the largest shift

- 2 spaces per classroom

U07-005

Allow for 10,000 SF of the existing25,000 SF church building to be usedfor a foreign language school with apreschool / kindergarten component.Proposed school will serve amaximum of 60 students in 6 existingclassrooms.


- 10 spaces per classroom for the specialschool

U07-002/CV07-002/U07-003

Addition of a 13,600 SF preschooland a 2,000 SF mikvah at the existingsynagogue (19,036 SF).



RZ07-010/CV07-010

Develop 31 single family residentiallots and a 10,500 SF church.


RZ06-046/CV06-032

Maintain the existing church structureand convert the existing accessorybuilding on the site into an art/auctiongallery.


- 5 spaces per 1,000 SF for retail

RZ07-011/CV07-012

Allow for a church in the existing3,242 SF building.


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Table 5

Previous Church Petitions for Fulton County

2006U-0004 SFC /2006U-0007 SFC /2006VC-0051 SFC

Develop a 2,200 seat church and 225student day care facility with 200additional after school programstudents for a total of 150,000 SF.

- 1 parking space per 3.5 fixed seats inlargest assembly area


- 50 spaces per recreation field- Staff recommended shared parking

between the proposed uses

2001U-0007 NFC /2001U-0021 NFC /2001VC-0071 NFC

Develop a 5,618 seat 120,600 SFchurch and a softball field.


- 50 spaces per recreation field- Recreation area was considered an

accessory use and would not be usedwhen church services are held thusallowing for shared parking between thetwo uses

2002Z-0026 NFC /2002U-0017 NFC /2002U-0018 NFC /2002U-0019 NFC /2002U-0020 NFC /2002VC-0053 NFC

Develop a 100,000 SF communitycenter with a day care for 285students, a 55,000 SF private schoolfor 250 students, synagogueexpansion form 3,900 SF to 25,000SF, and recreational areas to include 4tennis courts, 2 soccer/softball fields,2 pools, a pool house, and 4 campshelters.

- 1 parking space per 3.5 fixed seats inlargest assembly area or 1 per 30 SF inthe largest assembly area


- larger of 2 spaces per classroom or 1 per35 SF in largest assembly area forelementary school

- 50 spaces per recreation field- 3 spaces per tennis court- Staff recommended shared parking

between the proposed uses2002U-0025 NFC /

2002U-0026 NFC /2002VC-0079 NFC

Expand the existing church to110,000 SF with a total of 2,400 seatsand to expand the size of existingrecreation field.


2002U-0047 SFC /2002U-0048 SFC

Develop a 3,000 seat church,recreation field, and accessory usesconsisting of approximately 100,000SF.


2003Z-0104 SFC Develop a 1,691 SF church. - 1 parking space per 3.5 fixed seats inlargest assembly area

2004U-0027 SFC /2004VC-0242 SFC

Expand an existing place of worshipto 14,001 SF temple and storagebuildings.

- 1 parking space per 30 SF in the largestassembly area for places of worship

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From a review of Table 4, the above cases did not reveal any instance where the City of Sandy Springs

or Fulton County treated traditional church functions such as church offices, Sunday school rooms

and assembly areas as separate uses and required a church to provide parking based on the square

footage of office, plus the square footage of classroom space, plus the square footage of sanctuary. In

instances where a separate use such as a state licensed day care, state licensed school or recreational

field was requested, the City of Sandy Springs or Fulton County did require additional parking.

However, the reports also do not reflect any instance where there was a condition placed on the use of

church facilities which prohibits the use of one church function while another church function is

ongoing.

4.0 COMPARISON BETWEEN NASHVILLE AND SANDY SPRINGS SITES

Based on conversations with Church of Scientology staff, the general operations of the various churches

is quite consistent across the nation. This section provides information relative to the Nashville site as

well as the proposed Sandy Springs site.

One Sunday Service occurs each week from Noon – 1:00 PM. In Nashville, the Sunday service

averages approximately 60 people.

Classes are offered Monday-Friday. Currently, individual classes start at 9:45 AM, 1:15 PM,

4:00 PM, and 7:00 PM.

Classes are offered Saturday and Sunday. Currently, individual classes start at 9:45 AM, 1:15

PM, and 4:00 PM.

Active Membership (On-Service) in Nashville is approximately 500 people, and approximately

100 people in Dunwoody.

Hours of Operation: 9:00 AM – 10:00 PM.

The Church of Scientology has had a presence in Nashville since 1985. They have been in

their current location since April 25, 2009. The Church of Scientology has had a presence in

the Atlanta area since the late 1970’s. They have been in their current building off Shallowford

Road for 2 years.

The number of employees at the Nashville site is 80. The current number of employees at the

Dunwoody site is 20.

At the Nashville site, the sanctuary/chapel is 1,782 SF. The proposed sanctuary/chapel in

Sandy Springs is 1,218 SF. The current sanctuary/chapel at the Dunwoody site is

approximately 300 SF.

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5.0 CONCLUSION

This parking evaluation provides information that was collected at the existing Church of Scientology

site located in Dunwoody (11,500 SF) and the Nashville site (38,000 SF). Based on field observations

during the peak parking demand, a parking demand rate per square foot was determined. For the

Dunwoody site, 1 car per 522 SF was observed. For Nashville, a 1 car per 927 SF was observed. Since

the Nashville site most closely resembles the size of the proposed Sandy Springs site (43,246 SF), and

the proposed Sandy Springs operations being similar to the Nashville, the 1 space per 927 SF rate

seemed appropriate. Based on that rate, the proposed Sandy Springs site consisting of 43,246 SF would

require 47 spaces (43,246 / 927). Applying a 10% seasonal variation factor, 52 spaces would be

needed. With 81 spaces being proposed on-site, 55% surplus parking will be provided. It should be

noted that this surplus exceeds the 10% surplus that is typically desired.

As mentioned earlier, caution should be used while considering the Dunwoody rate as that facility is

operating over-capacity. However, to apply a margin of error, if the two rates were averaged, a 1 space

per 725 SF rate would be needed ((522+927) / 2). With the average rate applied to the proposed Sandy

Springs site, 60 spaces (43,246 / 725) would be needed. Applying a 10% season variation factor, 66

spaces would be needed. With 81 spaces provided, 22% surplus parking will be provided. It should be

noted that this surplus exceeds the 10% surplus that is typically desired.

5.1 Recommendations

Based on the parking demand observations at the existing Dunwoody and Nashville sites, combined

with the projected size and operations of the Sandy Springs site, 81 parking spaces will be sufficient to

accommodate the anticipated parking demand for the 43,246 SF size and would also provide sufficient

surplus parking.

Appendix

tim.brandstetter

Typewritten Text

Nashville Location

Date: Thursday, June 18th

Counter: Sarah Grimm (and Julie from Church of Scientology)

No. of people in attendance: 71

No. of parking spots available (Area 1): 82 (75 General, 4 Handicap, 3 Compact)


Area 1 Area 2

8:00 PM 19 General 15 General

0 Handicap 0 Handicap

0 Other (Compact) 2 Other (Compact)

19 Total 17 Total

Notes/Comments:

Number of Parked Vehicles

Church of Scientology - Nashville

Date: Saturday, June 20th

Counter: Colleen Judy




Area 1 Area 2




10 Total 19 Total

Notes/Comments:



Date: Sunday, June 21st

Counter: Sean Coleman




Area 1 Area 2

11:00 AM 19 General 18 General



19 Total 22 Total

Notes/Comments:



Date: Sunday, June 21st

Counter: Colleen Judy




Area 1 Area 2




18 Total 20 Total

Notes/Comments:



Church of Scientology of GeorgiaCourse Attendance - 2009Dunwoody

Note: Some of these are the same person either staying for the next course period or returning.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday SaturdayFebruary 9:45 1:15 4:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:002/1-2/7 13 17 18 3 2 3 6 4 3 3 8 4 4 5 6 2 5 4 4 2 7 8 6 12 15 18 1822/8-2/14 14 17 18 1 3 4 5 4 4 3 6 4 4 3 7 2 6 11 9 6 6 8 7 12 15 16 1952/15-2/21 14 18 18 4 5 4 6 5 5 3 6 5 5 4 5 4 6 5 8 5 6 5 3 9 13 9 1802/22-2/28 9 13 13 2 4 5 5 4 5 5 8 4 3 3 9 3 4 3 8 3 3 4 6 9 13 13 161

Weekly Average: 180

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday SaturdayMarch 9:45 1:15 4:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:003/1-3/7 10 10 12 2 4 3 5 4 2 2 6 6 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 2 1 2 2 10 11 9 1253/8-3/14 10 17 19 2 3 2 6 1 3 3 7 2 4 5 9 4 3 3 5 4 3 4 5 4 4 5 1373/15-3/21 9 15 12 3 3 3 6 3 1 2 10 3 7 6 3 2 5 5 6 4 4 5 7 9 11 11 1553/22-3/28 10 15 13 3 4 2 5 1 2 1 4 4 4 8 4 1 2 0 2 2 3 4 3 6 9 8 120

Weekly Average: 134

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday SaturdayApril 9:45 1:15 4:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:003/29 - 4/4 8 11 11 3 3 3 3 1 1 3 6 6 5 5 7 2 3 4 5 3 3 3 5 7 11 12 1344/5 - 4/11 7 10 13 3 0 3 4 1 2 4 6 6 5 6 3 5 3 3 6 3 3 3 4 6 12 13 1344/12 - 4/28 5 11 13 4 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 7 4 6 8 6 5 4 6 5 3 3 4 7 8 7 1454/19 - 4/25 8 8 12 5 2 4 5 4 4 3 6 5 5 5 7 5 5 4 6 5 3 3 4 6 9 10 1434/26 - 5/2 6 10 13 6 3 4 5 3 3 4 6 6 5 6 7 6 6 4 5 5 3 3 5 7 11 12 154

Weekly Average: 142

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday SaturdayMay 9:45 1:15 4:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:005/3 - 5/9 9 14 13 4 0 2 6 3 2 2 5 4 6 6 7 4 6 7 6 2 2 2 4 6 10 11 1435/10-5/16 8 10 12 3 1 2 5 2 2 3 4 4 6 6 6 4 5 8 6 3 3 4 4 7 10 13 1415/17-5/23 10 10 11 4 3 3 4 4 1 2 4 4 5 6 8 5 5 4 6 4 2 4 4 7 9 11 1405/24-5/30 9 11 13 3 2 3 5 4 2 4 5 5 6 5 6 5 5 4 6 4 3 5 5 8 9 10 147

Weekly Average: 143

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday SaturdayJune 9:45 1:15 4:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:00 7:00 9:45 1:15 4:005/31-6/6 9 10 12 2 1 0 7 3 2 2 6 3 4 5 7 5 4 4 6 3 3 5 4 8 12 9 1366/7-6/13 4 4 2 3 2 0 6 3 2 2 5 2 2 6 8 4 4 5 5 4 2 4 5 7 10 12 1136/14-6/20 9 8 10 3 1 2 6 1 1 3 4 2 2 6 6 5 5 8 8 4 4 6 3 9 11 10 1376/21-6/27 8 11 10 4 2 3 5

Weekly Average: 129

Note: It is typical for many people attend multiple class sessions per day and therefore would be double or triple counted each day.

Documents

Church of Scientology - Ethercatalley.ethercat.com/info/SandySpringsChurchOfScientologyParking.pdf · 3.2 Existing Church of Scientology – City of Nashville, Tennessee Site The