DAPHNE — Restoration Fellowship Ministries on Thursday did not receive a special exception to build a church on property surrounded by the Lake Forest subdivision.

Board member Walter Crimmis motioned to allow the exception, during the Board of Zoning Adjustments meeting.

The motion did not receive a second and therefore, it did not go to a vote.

Restoration developers have 10 days to notify the city if it will appeal the decision.

Restoration owns a 3-acre tract of land in the 40-acre Marie Jones subdivision, which is surrounded by Lake Forest.

The property is zoned R-3, high density, single family residence. A special exception can be given to organizations such as schools and churches to allow them to build anywhere.

Traffic is a major concern in the area, according to Planning Director Bill Eady.

Ridgewood Drive, the street on which all motorists would travel, is inadequate to serve the subdivision as it stands, Eady said.

“It would have a negative impact and as the church grows, the problem will only increase,” Eady said.

The location does not fit with the surrounding neighborhood, Eady said.

The planning department did not approve of the appeal, Eady said.

Only two people spoke in favor of the exception, while several Lake Forest residents came to speak against it.

“We’re not here to fight you, we’re just looking for somewhere to worship,” church member Freddy Johnson said during a public hearing.

“We were under the impression that we could build,” Pastor Starling King said.

King said that the property is not in Lake Forest and it is a bigger piece of property, not like the smaller lots that R-3 zoning denotes.

“We understand the concerns of residents,” King said, referring to those who want the area to maintain Lake Forest’s single-family requirements.

Traffic would increase, but not seen as a problem because it wasn’t during peak times, according to King.

Lake Forest residents have voiced issues of traffic, public safety and the overall cohesiveness of the neighborhood.

Currently, the property is accessed through a cul-de-sac and then onto a one-lane, gravel road, Diane Hurst said.

Emergency vehicles and city service vehicles, like garbage trucks, cannot easily maneuver through the subdivision, Jim Moss said.

“If there’s a fire and you have 150 cars trying to get out and one emergency vehicle trying to get in, it won’t work,” Moss said.

A church does not fit with the nature of the neighborhood. The subdivision is single-family residences — nothing else, Hurst said.

“Lake Forest is not against churches; we would be opposed to anything built here that’s not single-family residences,” Hurst said.

Hurst also questioned whether there could be “exception after exception” if the church were to outgrow the surroundings and the property were sold to owners with different plans.

“It’s like having 10 pounds in an 8-pound sack; it just won’t fit,” Moss said.

Most residents live in Lake Forest because it’s their home; a church would not work well within the neighborhood, Councilman John Lake said.

“Do not give this a reason for an exception; use these for reasons to vote against it,” Lake said.