God Versus Nature : Plan for ‘Mega-Church’ Near San Elijo Lagoon Riles Neighbors

For the residents of a tiny corner of Encinitas, this is their field of dreams--26 acres of upper wetlands adjacent to the environmentally sensitive San Elijo Lagoon, where rare birds roost and peace resides.

North Coast Presbyterian Church officials like the natural setting, too. They recently received the initial city go-ahead on their plan to build a new church complex on the semi-rural site just east of Interstate 5, near the Manchester Avenue off-ramp.

Neighbors in Olivenhain, however, say the proposed 42,000-square-foot “mega-church” would upset the balance of nature with its 1,125-person sanctuary, large recreation hall, offices, classrooms and parking for hundreds of cars.

Now homeowners are taking action as well--holding meetings, calling local politicians, passing petitions, trying to block the sprawling project and save their pastoral paradise along Escondido Creek.

Because, if you build it, critics have told church officials, they will come.

These critics contend that hundreds of outsiders would descend on the site for the church’s religious and cultural events, not to mention its daily community programs such as drama productions and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

“On Sunday mornings, I take walks over there and pick up papers, try to keep the place clean because I care about it,” said Jeff Frenald, who is among 100 or so residents who have formed the Manchester Preservation Coalition to oppose the project.

“But if this project goes through, there won’t be much use,” he said. “On Sundays, they’ll have their three services and the cars will come and go. The place will be nonstop people--not nature.”

Last week, more than 100 residents showed up for an Encinitas Planning Commission meeting to voice their opinion on the project, which has pitted otherwise well-regarded church officials against the surrounding residential community.

Previously, the Olivenhain Community Advisory board, a neighborhood design review panel, voted to approve the project once the church scaled back its plans to also develop two single-family homes and playing fields on the land.

The most recent Planning Commission meeting--the next step in the design review process below a City Council vote--lasted past midnight, forcing planners to continue debate on the issue until later this month.

The residents deny having the NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard) mentality--a term commonly used to describe homeowners who fight projects because they fear a drop in property values.

“It’s the right idea for the wrong location,” said resident Susan Rogers, who attended the recent planning meeting. “Nobody is saying anything against the good work the church has done in the community. But they’re refusing to look at the land-use issues here. They just keep insisting on the good work they do and how much the community at large needs them.”

Residents say the Encinitas General Plan restricts projects of such size from being built in places zoned for rural residential use. They also point to several rare birds that might be affected by such a project.

For their part, church officials say their mission is to pray, not prey, on any piece of sensitive land.

Anyway, they say, an environmental impact report has been completed and accepted by the Planning Commission. An appeal of the commission’s decision filed by the residents group was dismissed by the City Council, they add.

“Everything that has been brought out by this environmental report we feel we have mitigated,” said Gary Conner, executive director of the church, which is currently locate on nearby El Camino Real. A sign in front of the church proclaims: “Building Relationships That Make a Difference.”

“If there’s insects or animals that might be affected, we’ve designed around the problem,” Conner said. “I can’t say forever, because there might be something out there we don’t know about. But as of right now, we’ve done our job.”

Conner said church officials have changed the scope of their project three times during the design review process and have also canvassed residents door-to-door and attended community meetings--all to gauge local opinion on the project.

The plan calls for a $6-million, two-phase construction project that would include the 1,125-seat sanctuary and classrooms, with a multipurpose hall and more classrooms and parking added later--along with improvements to adjoining Manchester Avenue to accommodate the increased traffic.

However, all construction would be done on a small portion of the land in the middle of the 26-acre tract, which the church purchased last spring for $1.1 million. The remaining acreage would be left as open space, Conner said.

“We will not go near the sensitive lagoon,” he said. “In fact, there is another homeowner that owns property between us and it.”

Kevin Johnson, president of the San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy, said the sensitive areas extend beyond the lagoon to include the nearby watershed on which the church intends to build.

“The location is totally and absolutely inappropriate,” he said, “and anyone who understands the environmental sensitivity and importance of the reserve and its watershed clearly understands that there should be no church project built there.”

Johnson said the state Department of Fish and Game is holding hearings over whether the California gnatcatcher--a bird that nests in the area--should be placed on the endangered species list.

The conservancy has also recommended that the 26-acre tract should be acquired by either the state, county or city and made part of the San Elijo reserve. “It’s that important,” Johnson said.

He and others have said that the Presbyterian church is growing. Started in 1985 with 100 parishioners, it now has more than 1,000 members.

Current zoning allows for eight single-family homes to be built on the site.

“We think the city has just got to look at the differences between this massive church complex and eight single-family homes--which is going to do the most damage to the land,” Johnson said.

“Encinitas also has to realize that this is a church that is going to continue growing. That means they’re going to want to continue building, making more and more demands on the area. It won’t stop here.”

Church leaders say they are not ashamed of their recent growth.

“We see it as a positive thing,” said Conner, the executive director. “And we don’t like to see any bad blood in the community. Our mission, our vision, is to reach out to individuals in the community in a non-threatening way, to bring them to God. We didn’t want this controversy.”

Likewise, many Olivenhain residents don’t want a church built on the lagoon watershed.

“It’s not the idea that ‘I’ve got mine and now you can’t have yours,’ ” Frenald said. “Twenty years ago, when I built my house, I expected to have other houses built around me. I just never expected this.”

Homeowner Rogers says nothing will alter the opposition group’s plans to take the matter to the City Council if necessary. And, she says, residents will not be swayed by the fact that this time around it’s a church group proposing what they consider to be an unwieldy project.

“If you look at the facts of this proposal--and ignore the fact that it’s being proposed by a church--you realize even more that it’s so out of line with what’s called for in the area,” she said. “I’m just surprised it’s gone this far.”

“They might as well build a commercial strip there,” Rogers said. “At least they’d be calling a spade a spade.”