PARIS — The Planning Board voted unanimously Tuesday to allow the Grace Baptist Church to put a double-wide trailer on its property for Sunday school classes.

The plan was submitted on May 22 with the intent to bring in the trailer as soon as possible. The Planning Board had tabled it to collect more information, such as a financial plan, approval by the fire marshall, and authorization of pastor Rick Jeselskis to act as an agent of the church.

The church asked to put the 28- by 58-foot double-wide trailer in its parking lot. Additional parking is available in a grassy area behind the church, which is plowed during the winter. The application also stated that the church would like to start a school at the trailer, and Planning Board chairman Robert Kirchherr said there have been informal discussions about such a development.

“The permits you have and the permissions you have are for the Sunday school only,” Kirchherr told Jeselskis.

Kirchherr said that if a school is established at the site, it will constitute a change of use. In that case, Jeselskis would be required to get a new permit from the fire marshall and submit a new application to the Planning Board.

The church is located at 398 Paris Hill Road, not far from the boundary of the Paris Hill Historic District. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, 19 years after the church was founded and 14 years after construction of the church was completed. It includes numerous buildings built in the 19th century or earlier, including the original Oxford County government buildings and the birthplace of Hannibal Hamlin, who served as vice president to Abraham Lincoln.

In a letter to Jeselskis, Kirchherr said the church may be within the historic district’s “buffer area” as defined by the town’s comprehensive plan. The plan, which recommends guidelines for development but does not create regulations, says new development and redevelopment in the area should be managed “to maintain current land use and structural characteristics.” It also recommends ordinance standards to regulate standards “within and adjacent to the Paris Hill Historic District” to regulate land use and exterior building characteristics.

Kirchherr said the comprehensive plan identifies the buffer zone, but does not say how far it extends outside the historic district. He said the buildings neighboring the church are of a similar construction to the proposed trailer, and Jeselskis said he had approached the abutting property owners and received no complaints.

According to the church website, a 30- by 30-foot addition for Sunday School rooms was added in 1971. The property also includes a parsonage.

[email protected]