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Church expansion reductions debated

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I live half a block from St. Andrew’s Church. I remain opposed to the

expansion even with the proposed reduction for two reasons.

First, the current size of the church and the traffic generated on

our local streets is unacceptable. On Saturday afternoon and Sunday

morning my street is like an entrance to the San Diego Freeway as St.

Andrew’s members speed down the street trying to find parking.

Second, I think that spending the proposed $20 million on bricks,

steel and concrete is not what God expects us to do as Christians.

God’s message is very clear: Give to those in need!

Therefore, I would rather see St. Andrew’s provide scholarships to

needy students, community outreach for those with depression, medical

help for those with diseases like diabetes and AIDS, help for poor

emigrant families and, finally, financial and emotional help for the

elderly.

ROBERT CRAIG

Newport Beach

Regarding the St. Andrew’s Church expansion, we have tried so hard

to please everyone, but the real people we need to please are those

who are searching for Jesus Christ. We want so much to please

everyone, but that is not possible. Please assist us in making St.

Andrew’s Presbyterian Church a special place for all ages.

NANCY N. BELL

Newport Beach

Years have been spent debating the St. Andrew’s expansion

proposal. It appears to me that the staff and consultants of St.

Andrew’s have bent over backward many times to find an amicable

solution in attempt to be a good neighbor in the Cliffhaven area. It

seems to me, however, that enough is enough. It is time to draw this

chapter to a close.

St. Andrew’s has made a 40% reduction from its original expansion

objective in an attempt to meet the needs of the neighborhood. That

is a huge sacrifice. The church offered to build a multi-story garage

on the land at Newport Harbor High School. Much of the traffic and

parking problems are generated at the high school. The garage on the

St. Andrew’s property is only a result of the rejection of the first

proposal.

The Cliffhaven neighborhood is not like a new community in Irvine,

where all land uses can be determined up front. This neighborhood has

evolved over many decades. Let’s also remember that this is not a new

“big box” retailer coming into an established neighborhood. St.

Andrew’s has been at this location and serving the needs of the

community for over 50 years. It only wants to serve the needs of

current and future generations and wants its campus to be more

relevant to those needs. This is a remodel project designed to

improve what exists today.

This is similar to homeowners wishing to remodel or replace the

existing homes in the neighborhood for the benefit of their families.

Homeowners are in many cases doing extensive remodeling and in other

situations are replacing modest single-story homes with “McMansions,”

clearly building out to the maximum. It appears to me that some of

the neighborhood wants to have the right to build out to the maximum

but at the same time wants to deny a long-established neighbor a

legitimate objective to improve its facility to meet the current and

future needs of its church family and community.

St. Andrew’s has spent years trying to accommodate the needs of

the neighborhood. Now, I think it is time to stop the endless delay

and bickering, and allow this church the right to improve its

property with the objective of serving the needs of the community at

large.

LOREN PANNIER

Newport Beach

As a member of St. Andrew’s and resident of Newport Beach, I think

the church has made a very reasonable proposal to improve its

previous plan to the benefit of the surrounding community. Just the

added 150 on-campus parking spaces should be reason enough for the

neighbors to support this proposal as it will reduce the number of

cars that might park on their streets.

THOMAS HENDERSON

Newport Beach

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