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I am writing in response to The Gazette's article about the Global Mission Church ("Church to appeal decision," Oct. 22).

I live in the neighborhood where the church made its application to build, I attended the planning meeting where the application was denied, and I am a developer by occupation. What seems clear to me is that the church relied on a technical loophole created by poor drafting of the zoning text for exempted uses in a residential area.

Behind this, the truth is that the church officials have also exhibited exquisitely poor judgment from day one when they decided on an under-the-radar strategy designed to sneak their application past the public, a decision that has now cost them in wasted time and money. Who in their right mind would risk the bad public relations of cross-examining a retired housewife sharing personal feelings at a public hearing? Global Mission Church did. Pure hubris.

Instead of using the three months of continuance the church was granted by the Planning Commission to adjust the size and scale of their project so it would conform to Health Department and Office of Life Safety regulations and fit in the surrounding farm community, the church made no adjustments at all other than to choose yet another arrogant ram-rod approach of intimidation through litigation by filing a lawsuit before the planning meeting and then demanding cross-examination of the public speakers during the meeting.

Church officials should accept the offer they have to buy back the land for what they paid for it.

Bennett H. Goldberg, Frederick