Planners in Frederick and Montgomery counties did not fully comprehend the scope of a large church proposed to be built on properties that straddle the county lines, according to representatives in both counties.

The proposed 138,027-square-foot Global Mission Church would be built on two pieces of land totaling 88 acres in Frederick County's agricultural zone with a sole access point via Old Hundred Road through a 32-acre parcel in Montgomery County's Agricultural Reserve, according to Frederick County Planning Commission documents. Church representatives have said they are moving closer to where their congregation lives, but some residents say the proposed facility is too large for the community.

Frederick County contacted Montgomery planners about environmental and forest conservation approvals for the 32-acre parcel, but Montgomery officials did not realize the scope of the planned church because of the fragmented nature of the project, said Callum Murray, team leader of community-based planning in Montgomery County. Subdivision review was not required because no buildings were proposed on the Montgomery parcel, he said.

The Planning Board and planning staff were also not aware that County Executive Isiah Leggett endorsed a proposed bridge over a 100-year floodplain and road improvements on the Montgomery County parcel in a July letter to the Frederick Planning Commission, Murray said.

"None of these things triggered a review by the Planning Board or a public hearing [in Montgomery County], and that's unfortunate," said Murray, who said that planners have concerns about the project. "Had something like this been brought to the attention of community planning, we would probably have asked the Planning Board to have a hearing."

It is unusual for parts of a development project to be in different jurisdictions, Murray said. The large amount of questions raised by the proposal was also unusual for Frederick planners, Assistant County Attorney Kathy Mitchell said.

"This is an unusual case. Usually there aren't so many questions," she said. "Most things that come up are simple, everyday uses, but this is more complicated. I don't think anyone understood the extent of uses that would be there."

Sanctuary space is traditionally the largest part of a church, Mitchell said, but Global Mission's 85-foot-tall facility would also include 67 meeting rooms, a 500-seat dining room and an 18,000-square-foot open room. The project includes a parking lot with 397 spaces and a 1,160-seat sanctuary. The church has about 1,600 members but no more than 900 will be there at a single time, said technical project director and deacon Man Bae Kim.

The Frederick County Planning Commission was scheduled to vote on the project in July but delayed its decision to get more information, including input from Montgomery County. The Commission is due to vote Wednesday. Planning staff initially recommended conditional approval of the project but now recommend denial.

Church representatives said the facility would need septic capacity for 4,999 gallons per day, one gallon shy of the capacity that would require an amendment to the county's water and sewer plan, according to the documents. The church initially applied for an amendment but the request was denied in September 2008 and is under appeal.

Frederick officials determined that the facility would use more than 4,999 gallons per day by calculating the maximum occupancy load of the building, and state health officials concurred after studying water use at the church's current facility, a 78,950-square-foot building in Silver Spring, according to the documents.

"We feel we are being treated unfairly," said Kim, who disagreed with the new water use assessments and said church representatives are willing to scale down the size of the facility. "One month ago they all approved our concept. What has changed?"