Appeals filed over controversial GraceLife Church expansion in Parkland County [Video]

People living near a proposed church expansion just outside Edmonton are waiting for a public appeals board to decide whether or not their opposition to the project can move forward.

On Nov. 15, 2024, GraceLife Church of Edmonton was issued a development permit to add to their existing building, along Highway 627 and Range Road 262, beside the Edmonton Corn Maze in Parkland County.

GraceLife applied to the county last year to add 50,000 square feet to the existing facility: a new, 25,000-square-foot sanctuary and 25,000-square-foot education centre with 13 classrooms and a gymnasium.

Sunday church attendance is expected to rise from 800 to 900 congregants over two services to 1,200 to 1,500 people in one large gathering.

Enoch Cree Nation, which is directly across the highway from the church, and Parkland County residents living on acreages near GraceLife each submitted appeals against the permit to the Parkland County Subdivision and Development Appeal Board, but those arrived after the county’s deadline.