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Jesus one talked about making friends with one's accusers on the way to court (Matt. 5:25-26). Today, he might tell a church to make friends with neighbors before meeting with the local zoning board.

That's because neighborhood residents and municipal officials are increasingly viewing local churches and nonprofit organizations as liabilities rather than assets to a community. Four developments are to blame for the rising resistance to church construction:

• Higher property taxes,
• Changing land-use policies and priorities,
• Concern about stable property values,
• The slow disintegration of mainline Protestantism, which has resulted in a larger number of independent evangelical, fundamentalist, and Pentecostal churches that meet in a variety of settings, from storefronts to huge campuses.

A Hedge Against Taxes
Typically, land is zoned residential, commercial, or industrial. Most municipalities don't allow churches to operate or build in areas zoned for industrial use.

Churches are not commercial entities with taxable sales, but they do have offices, so they sometimes operate in commercial areas. Churches operate out of residential areas, too. Regardless of where they settle, churches belong to an ambiguous "special-use" category, which means that the land they want to build on cannot be removed from the tax rolls without a public hearing.

That's where churches run into trouble. Community residents who pay high property taxes are loathe to approve more tax-exempt land. Feeling the pinch in their wallets, they find less convincing the assertion that a church or nonprofit adds "social capital" to a community.

The 800-member Evanston (Illinois) Vineyard Fellowship ran into problems when the church attempted to buy the former headquarters of Searle Pharmeceuticals headquarters just north of town. The congregation had rented space in a high school for 21 years, but had to look around for other property when the school closed its auditorium for extensive renovation.

The Evanston zoning commission unanimously approved the church's request for a special-use exemption for the Searle property. But the city council nixed the decision, saying it wanted a tax-paying business firm to buy the property.

Eventually, Vineyard Church bought the Searle property. It currently uses the property for office space, concerts, and various church activities. However, the city will not allow worship services there because the zoning ordinance won't allow it.

Bill Hanawalt, Vineyard's pastor, believes that's unfair, especially since community cultural events (theater, music, drama) are permitted in the district. He thinks the city council is violating the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of religious freedom.

Hanawalt says the council is attempting to restrict his church's use of the Searle property out of pride because its authority has been challenged. Vineyard Church filed a discrimination suit on July 20 against the city of Evanston to win the right to worship in its own facility.

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