The First Baptist Church of Central Florida will soon have a 199-foot-tall cross at its west Orange County campus.
Orange County commissioners on Tuesday approved construction of the cross — which is 51/2 times higher than zoning allows in that area — by a 6-1 vote.
“Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord,” churchgoer Maude Mayers chanted as she left the meeting with tears in her eyes. “I am so happy because I prayed and I fasted . . . and nothing is impossible with God.”
County staff members had recommended that the commission deny the church’s request because the county’s zoning adjustments board said the cross would exceed sign-height limits and “overwhelm the landscape.”
The steel cross, which will be painted white and lighted at its base, will be on the church’s 48-acre campus at Good Homes Road and Colonial Drive, in a joint-planning area for Ocoee and the county. Ocoee officials at first opposed the cross but changed their minds after churchgoers lobbied the City Commission. The churchgoers argued that the cross was a symbol, and thus not bound by sign laws.
The Rev. Clayton Cloer made the same pitch Tuesday.
“The cross is not a sign; it is a symbol. A sign identifies; a symbol expresses,” Cloer said. “To compare the cross to a Wal-Mart sign or a McDonald’s sign . . . is what we believe would be an incorrect comparison.”
Cloer’s sentiments were echoed by state Sen. Daniel Webster, a member of the church.
“It’s not a flagpole; it’s not a cell tower; it’s not a building; it’s not a sign,” Webster, R-Winter Garden, told the board. “You bring issues to me, and you know I deem them important because I know you wouldn’t bring them to me if they weren’t very important . . . . If I come to you, I only come to you because I believe it’s very important.”
Despite those arguments, District 1 County Commissioner Teresa Jacobs opposed the cross, saying she could not reconcile it with county regulations and variance stipulations. The cross will be in her district.
“We cannot single out Christianity . . . without providing that opportunity to all other churches, mosques and synagogues,” Jacobs said. She recommended amending the code to differentiate between signs and symbols.
Commissioners Linda Stewart and Bob Sindler said they did not need to take that step because the cross was clearly a religious symbol.
