Church leaders banking on a second opinion
Lolita Harper
COSTA MESA -- Calvary Church Newport Mesa officials will ask the City
Council on Monday to overturn an earlier denial by the Planning
Commission to erect a temporary structure for three to five years at the
church’s Newport Boulevard construction site.
After an initial rejection, Pastor Tim Celek petitioned council
members to challenge the Planning Commission’s decision. Councilman Gary
Monahan said he was happy to do so, adding that the item at least
deserved further scrutiny.
Celek said he was surprised at the denial but hoped the council would
recognize the church’s benefit to the community and allow the
7,910-square-foot temporary structure.
“We’ll see what will happen,” Celek said.
Last month, the Planning Commission narrowly voted down the church’s
request to build a temporary 36-foot house of worship at 2115 Newport
Blvd. that would host services until a permanent sanctuary on the site is
complete.
The commission majority said the temporary structure was not
compatible with its surroundings and would set a precedent for other
churches or organizations that say they have outgrown their existing
digs.
Monahan appealed the decision because the church’s need for more space
affects not only its members but those who live near the existing Orange
Avenue sanctuary. The church’s growing congregation has caused parking
problems in the surrounding neighborhood, and it would be good to allow
for services at the Newport Boulevard site, Monahan said.
Calvary Church Newport Mesa has embarked on a multimillion-dollar
project that, when finished, will double the size of its existing Orange
Avenue campus and include a new sanctuary, educational buildings, a
four-level parking structure and a multipurpose room.
Construction on the first phase of the plan is almost complete, but a
lack of funding will stall the sanctuary for a few years, said Dan
Steward, who is overseeing the project.
Celek said holding services in the temporary structure would allow the
church to accommodate its growing congregation while church officials
monitor the real estate market to find the right time to sell the Orange
Avenue property. The money from the sale would fund the new sanctuary.
Monahan and Celek contend that an appeal is reasonable because an
earlier city decision arguably hindered the church from selling the
Orange Avenue property for maximum profit.
Church officials had originally planned to build the project in one
step but were stalled by a citywide moratorium on small-lot development,
Celek said. While the moratorium did not apply to the commercial zoning
for the lot on Newport Boulevard, it made it nearly impossible to market
the Orange Avenue property, which is located in a medium-density
residential zone, to potential buyers.
“Nobody wants to buy land they can’t develop,” Celek said.
FYI
WHAT: Costa Mesa City Council meeting
WHEN: 6:30 p.m., Monday
WHERE: City Hall, 77 Fair Drive
INFORMATION: (714) 754-5223
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