No Room for Churches

Why people don't want churches in their neighborhood

by John R. Throop

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.

Church leaders must
be savvy in zoning
matters that can sour
community relations

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.

Arthur Newman, a member of the Evanston city council, strongly disagrees with Hanawalt. He says the Searle property could produce $1 million in tax revenue in 10 years' time, and he feels the church should find another location for worship rather than hurt the city's finances. "The church wants to change the zoning code for the entire city, which is not right," Newman says.

Conflicting Interests
Land-use issues can also prompt objections to church expansion on existing property. John Mauck, a Chicago attorney specializing in church and zoning issues, says, "In many areas, planners want to tell landowners that they must use property in ways that increase property value—and ultimately increase appraised value and assessments."
Congregations that want to create megachurch campuses near metropolitan areas can face stiff opposition from farmers and environmentalists. One large suburban Connecticut church could not expand after part of its property was declared a wetland. Smaller churches face many of the same problems.

Sometimes the historic nature of a church building creates difficulties if the building no longer supports the ministry or becomes too costly to maintain. For example, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio, Texas, wanted to demolish the 75-year-old St. Peter Roman Catholic Church building in Boerne, Texas, because the building no longer suited the needs of the parish.

The city blocked the demolition. The archdiocese sued. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, with the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) at the core of the arguments. In 1997, the Court sided with the city and struck down the RFRA, removing one method that churches had been using to challenge restrictive zoning. The church and the city later settled, enabling a new church to build behind the existing edifice.

A Question of Property Values
Some neighborhood residents object to a church's move into their midst because of property values. According to Mauck, some people are suspicious of independent, non-denominational churches, thinking they're cultish. People are especially leery if the churches have a nontraditional style of worship and are aggressive about evangelism.

Social fears can also hurt churches. "Racial and ethnic prejudice often is a factor, consciously or unconsciously," Mauck says. "Residents say, 'These people are changing our community.' They fear property values will suffer."

For example, some residents of Miami, Florida, have objected to churches using low-cost storefront rental property in commercial and residential districts, ostensibly because these churches minister to Haitian immigrants.

First Christian Church in San Jose, California, discovered that, while people may tout the virtues of welfare-to-work initiatives and housing for the homeless, they are also quick to respond with "NIMBY!" (Not in My Back Yard) restrictions. City officials ordered the church to close its homeless shelter or face $2,500-per-day fines for zoning violations. The city said it zoned the church as a ministry, not as a shelter. Eventually the two sides came to an agreement. The shelter is still operating.

Avoid Zoning Perils
Legal experts predict that zoning issues related to churches will become more contentious as property owners struggle to reduce property taxes. So what can churches do to minimize the legal risks?

1. Meet with city officials and learn their perspective on zoning issues. File all necessary permits and paperwork, and anticipate objections. Talk with a sharp attorney who understands zoning issues.

2. Know your neighbors and spend time listening to their concerns. Let them know what your church's ministry is all about and how it adds value to their area.

3. Pray. Zoning issues can be spiritual battlegrounds, not just arguments over land use and taxes. Pray for the decision-makers, the neighbors, and for wisdom for church leaders.

4. If another church faces zoning problems, support its efforts, both as a congregation and as a member of a council of churches. Churches are in this issue together.

Communities no longer favor churches as a community asset. Church leaders must therefore be savvy in zoning matters that could sour community relations. Maintaining good relationships with neighbors should be as high on a church's priority list as constructing a good building.

John Throop is pastor of Christ Church (Episcopal) in Peoria, Illinois, and also works as a management consultant.

Copyright © 1998 by the author or Christianity Today International/Your Church Magazine. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or e-mail yceditor@yourchurch.net.
November/December 1998, Vol.2, No. 6, Page 20

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