PLAINFIELD – The future of Grace Episcopal Church and the property around it may depend on the redevelopment plan the Planning Board selects for the East 7th Street and Cleveland Avenue site.

The City Council on Tuesday by a 4-3 vote approved a resolution directing the Planning Board to prepare a redevelopment plan for the property.

The redevelopment plan is intended to preserve the historic aspects of the 130-year-old Gothic Revival-style church.

If the city had taken no action, the property would continue to be blighted and the city would become responsible for all the property maintenance issues, city officials said.

Valerie Jackson, the city’s director of economic development, said the church’s sale was approved by the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey.

“There are prospective buyers for this property. The diocese and the church will handle the disposition of interior furniture and fixtures including the carillon, the stained-glass windows and the organ,” Jackson said. “The Grace Church congregation has moved to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Plainfield.”

Because the church carillon, stained-glass windows and organ are all private property, Jackson said the church could sell them, move them to another location or do anything else they want with the items.

Resident Ian Fraser said the church is a landmark under the city’s Historic Preservation Commission ordinance which is grounds for the city to preserve it. Fraser also argued the carillon is an exterior feature under the Commission ordinance because it can be viewed through slats in the tower.

Earlier:Historic Plainfield church’s future uncertain amid planned changes to preservation efforts

Jackson said a 2021 building inspection report conducted by the diocese revealed dangerous health and safety issues, including asbestos in all areas of the building, lead paint, mold and exterior and interior structural deficiencies. She said the city’s planner noted many of the same deficiencies during an interior inspection.

The current zoning for Grace Church permits mixed-use structures, apartments, townhouses, child care, retail, personal service, office, art studio, art gallery, museum, restaurant, tavern, bank, health and fitness club, banquet hall, parking lot, laundromat, nursing home, adult day care facility, assisted living facility, funeral home, house of worship, fraternal organization and open space.

“The city would like the church preserved and adaptively reused,” Jackson said, adding that by including the property in a redevelopment area and plan the city can prescribe and narrow the permitted uses for the site.

Although the Planning Board did not recommend that the property be declared an area in need of redevelopment, the property meets the designation criteria. And because the property is part of the Urban Enterprise Zone Rehabilitation Plan, the City Council can direct or create a redevelopment plan for the property without designating it as an area in need of redevelopment, Jackson said.

Also see:Plainfield City Council narrowly approves limiting Historic Preservation Commission powers

Although the church is listed on the state and national registries of historic places, Jackson said it’s also private property and under privacy rules the church could be demolished.

“We don’t support that,” Jackson said. “Without a redevelopment plan we can’t prescribe that it should be adaptively reused and how that would work.”

Fraser questioned if the city could withhold a demolition permit.

Earlier this year the church announced plans to sell the building following decades of diminished attendance, decreased income and building conditions, including the inability to afford critical repairs expected to cost millions.

Email: srussell@gannnettnj.com

Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.