Image: Louanne Letkeman / A fire broke out on September 4, 2023 at Cross Connection Church at 9310 Williams Street in Chilliwack.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Rebuilding a destroyed church

Chilliwack council OK’s development variance permit to rebuild church destroyed by fire in 2023

Dec 4, 2025 | 1:18 PM

CHILLIWACK — Chilliwack councillors have signed off on a development variance permit to rebuild a small Chilliwack church that was destroyed by fire over two years ago.

Councillors voted unanimously on a development variance permit application from Precision Building Design Associates Ltd. to build a similarly sized church at 9310 Williams Street, subject to the recommendations as outlined within the draft development variance permit.

In September 2023, Cross Connection Church was destroyed by a fire. A church fire investigation determined that the cause of the fire was unknown, according to the church’s website. The church, which was first built in 1948, was demolished in the weeks and months after the fire.

Image: Louanne Letkeman / The fire on Sept. 4, 2023.

By Dec. 2023, the demolition and removal of the original church structure was complete.

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Image: Cross Connection Church / The property at 9310 Williams Street following the demolition and removal of the original church structure after the fire.

City of Chilliwack Director of Planning Gillian Villeneuve told councillors the proposal before them was to construction a new church of similar size and reconfigure the parking lot that was previously accessed from the street. The variances were supported by staff since the proposed layout would support a future active transportation corridor along Williams Street.

Villeneuve said the previous and proposed church are similar in size and the previous church site was in operation without any record of complaint with less parking than what was currently being proposed. She said the applicant has worked with staff to address both the parking needs of the church and the safety concerns of the city.

Image: Cross Connection Church/Precision Building Design Associates Ltd., via City of Chilliwack / A small rendition of what the future Cross Connection Church might resemble.

The city has asked that a 2-meter tall solid fence be provided along the eastern property line. The city supported the applicant’s request to have 53 parking spaces installed for the new church construction.

Chuck Stam, a former city councillor of over 15 years, and managing partner of Precision Building Design Associates Ltd., spoke on behalf of the church as the building applicant.

“This church has been part of the community for the last 77 years, and unfortunately on September 4, 2023, it was destroyed by fire. We’ve essentially designed a new church to replace square foot for square foot and brought the parking up to current standards. We feel the parking as proposed, we’ve maxed it out. The church, on a Sunday morning, averages 70-80 attendees, so we feel the current parking proposal will be adequate.”