Plans to plant another Presbyterian church in Bowling Green will have to wait until more fertile ground can be found.

The Warren County Board of Adjustments on Thursday denied an application for a conditional use permit to operate a religious institution on a 0.4-acre lot zoned for multi- family residential and located near East 13th Avenue and Foster Alley.

The application was brought by Kenneth Dick, coordinating presbyter with the Hopkinsville-based Presbytery of Western Kentucky, and property owner Travis Keller.

They came before the board seeking the permit for the 1303 E. 13th Ave. property after the City-County Planning Commission of Warren County received a code enforcement complaint arising from Dick’s efforts to establish a church in the four-bedroom house on the site.

After hearing from two people who live near the site and considering concerns about parking on the property and traffic along the narrow Foster Alley, the board voted unanimously (with Lloyd Ferguson abstaining) to deny the application.

“We’ll just have to find another location,” Dick said. “It was a perfect spot, but that’s the way it goes.”

Dick said he had been operating a church on the property for nearly a year and had “10 to 15” in attendance each week. The original application would have limited the number of people on the property at any given time to 30 and the number of cars to 10.

Both Dick and Keller indicated those numbers could be reduced, but Dick also indicated his plan was to grow the congregation and eventually move elsewhere.

“The goal is to establish another Presbyterian church in Bowling Green,” Dick said. “We would not be staying there permanently. I don’t know how long it will take to build up.”

Nearby residents Doris Deuth and Ryan Davis spoke against the application, with Deuth saying: “Signage is going to be an issue, and Foster Alley is a narrow alley that can’t have a lot of traffic. This would be a nuisance, with people turning around or parking on my property. I just don’t think it’s an appropriate use of the property.”

The board members agreed with that argument and rejected the application but approved four others.

Richard Whitaker was approved for a waiver to allow an accessory structure in front of the primary residence on his property at 1839 Mount Olivet-Girkin Road.

Derek and Amanda Talley were approved for a variance to allow a proposed attached garage to extend to within 3 feet of the side property line on their 212 Grassland Court home.

Scott and Tomitha Blair and Overland Imports Inc. were approved for a conditional use permit to operate an automobile salvage, wrecking and recycling operation at 479 Penns Chapel Road, which is zoned heavy industrial.

Anthony and Liana Pace were approved for a conditional use permit to operate a home occupation and provide music lessons at a single-family residence.

– Follow business reporter Don Sergent on Twitter @BGDNbusiness or visit bgdailynews.com.