MCLEAN, Va. -- Despite a recognized need, neighbors of McLean Bible Church object to a plan to build a 70-bed respite care center for disabled children. The church, with an average attendance of about 9,000 people, is already big enough, they say.

McLean Bible Church has asked permission to build the $16 million center to serve youths with autism, cerebral palsy and other disabilities, according to a news report in The Washington Post. The center would provide a break for families by caring for the children for periods of a few days.

The newspaper reported at least eight neighborhood associations have issued statements against the proposal, which county planners said would offer unique services to Fairfax County.

"There's no facility like it in the Washington region," said county supervisor Stuart Mendelsohn.

The neighborhood associations maintain the church already causes traffic congestion and they fear more expansion is on the way. The church purchased 3.5 acres next to its 43-acre campus but has not said what it will do there, the newspaper reported.

"I don't think a Wal-Mart could be any worse," said Jack Crosby, a member of Wolf Trap Woods Homes Association, which has 225 homes near the church.

The church already offers a four-week camp for disabled youths, for which parents pay $200 per child. The church subsidizes the balance of $800 per child.

The Rev. Lon Solomon, senior pastor at the church, said the respite center is essential for easing stress on families with disabled children.

"There's no center like this in the United States that we know of…and it really represents an opportunity for Fairfax County to become a leader in the country on this issue," he said.

Solomon's 11-year-old daughter, Jill, is among the 70 children at the summer camp.

While acknowledging the church is providing an important service, many neighbors say the church should locate some of its programs elsewhere to relieve pressure on traffic and the environment.

Tom Fellows, president of Wolf Trap Woods Homes, said the association has spent $50,000 on lawyers and consultants to fight the church.

Planning commissioner Joan M. DuBois said the commission must only consider the environmental and traffic impacts related to the respite center, not the overall effects of the church's campus.

"The church is there. We can't take that away. If the neighbors have problems, they are going to have to keep the lines of communication open because they are going to have to live next to one another," she said. "There may be a fence around the building, but they have to talk to one another."