Commissioners revoked a five-year-old special use permit Tuesday night for a small church in the northwest area of Sumter County.
To continue operating, the Sts. Joachim and Anna Orthodox Church, along County Road 246 west of County Road 475, may have to seek a new special use permit.
The 2021 permit allowed a 60-seat sanctuary and a residential structure that could be used as a parsonage or for visitors. Another permit issued in February allowed a graveyard and playground.
A Feb. 17 inspection after that permit was issued found code violations including trash, a recreational vehicle used as a residence and a semi-trailer used for storage.
Representing the church, Stanley Borowski of The Villages said the trash has been cleaned up and the semi-trailer has been on the property for more than two decades. The RV provides living quarters for a monk who serves as a property caretaker.
Borowski said the church is working to screen the property with foliage from neighbors, whose complaints prompted the inspection.
“We have worked to correct all of these situations,” he told commissioners, who were not persuaded.
Commissioner Jeffrey Bogue said “it’s a slippery slope if we start making the concessions here.”