City can limit Trinity TV shoots

Deirdre Newman

City officials have the legal authority to impose “reasonable” limits

on Trinity Christian Center’s outdoor broadcasting activities, said

Tom Wood, acting city attorney said.

On Monday, the Planning Commission will reconsider granting a

permit to Trinity to broadcast outside on a regular basis.

The commission’s legal authority and the international TV

ministry’s original operating permit, were at issue on Feb. 24, when

the Planning Commission originally considered granting the outdoor

broadcasting permit. The commission decided to shut down Trinity’s

outdoor TV taping until city planners had more time to review the

center’s original permit and Wood could analyze the city’s legal

power.

After closer examination, city planners are recommending what they

did last month: to allow Trinity to broadcast outdoors with certain

restrictions, since neighbors have complained about the light and

glare from the outdoor broadcasting.

The commission should not feel constrained in its ability to

regulate Trinity based on the federal Religious Land Use and

Institutionalized Persons Act, passed in 2000, Wood said.

“The main restriction is that we not substantially burden the

exercise of religious activities, and we don’t think the types of

restrictions that are before the Planning Commission impose a

substantial burden on the religious activities,” he said.

John Casoria, who represents Trinity, was not available for

comment Friday, but said in February that the center is amenable to

restrictions on broadcasting outside.

The Trinity Broadcasting Network started in 1973 in Santa Ana. In

1996, its headquarters, with an indoor broadcasting facility, was

built in Costa Mesa.

Outdoor TV taping was not part of the original permit. Such shows

require a special event permit every time. Still, soon after moving

in, the network started broadcasting outdoors and did so about 25 to

30 times a year, Casoria has said. Despite a slew of complaints, city

officials did not become aware of a problem until January 1999, said

Mel Lee, associate planner. At that point, the city fired off a

letter to the network explaining that they needed another permit if

they were conducting outdoor broadcasting on a frequent basis.

The network responded by claiming that since they are a church,

they did not have to comply. It waited until late 2002 to apply for

the permit, much to the chagrin of its neighbors.

Based on Trinity’s behavior in the past, some of these neighbors

still oppose any outdoor broadcasting.

“We don’t like to have them outside because it’s a matter of trust

and, in six years, we see we cannot trust them because if you give

them something, they continue to do more and more,” said Lars

Sivring, one neighbor of the facility.

City planners recommend that any outdoor broadcasting is conducted

in a way that allows for quiet enjoyment of the surrounding

neighborhood and that exterior lighting -- for the parking lot,

building or television production -- be designed to prevent spillover

light or glare onto adjacent properties.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa and may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at [email protected].