Neighbors might be better off with a castle

Lynda Adams

From the outset of its latest effort to expand, St. Andrew’s

Presbyterian Church has followed a two-pronged strategy to neutralize

the objections of the adjacent neighborhoods.

One element has been to continue to call itself a neighborhood

church, and the other is to characterize any resistance as NIMBYism

in its most parochial form.

Never mind that this is a numbers-driven land-use issue that goes

beyond the specific neighborhoods, indeed beyond the entire city.

Control the vocabulary and terms of reference and prevail.

Let’s review some numbers on which all parties agree. First, St.

Andrew’s is currently 104,000 square feet, not counting its parking

area, on a campus of 3.9 acres.

Second, it wants to expand, via a general-plan amendment, a

minimum of 20,000 additional square feet, bringing it up to 124,000

square feet. This number does not include a proposed parking

structure, recently described in this paper by a letter writer as a

“sunken garage” of an additional 120,000 to 140,000 square feet.

Those who object to this project have been told, by St. Andrew’s

and by city officials, that the mission of St. Andrew’s is important

to consider. Issues such as parking, traffic, density of use and

quality of life for the surrounding neighborhoods should be weighed

against the “good” St. Andrew’s offers the community.

To test this proposition, let’s compare some self-acknowledged big

buildings with similar missions, i.e. churches, and, for fun, some

not. The results follow.

The Crystal Cathedral, in Garden Grove, offers the many services

of a socially committed church. In addition to a full liturgical

schedule, Crystal Cathedral supports 22 ministries, 15 on-site

fellowship groups and 14 on-site support groups. And it is big. Its

site is 40 acres, located at the nexus of the Santa Ana (5), Orange

(57) and Garden Grove (22) freeways. The cathedral, no neighborhood

church by any stretch of the imagination, is 93,000 square feet.

Currently St. Andrew’s is 104,000 square feet, and wants to be 124,00

square feet, plus a parking structure.

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, conveniently located near

the Harbor (110) and Ventura (101) freeways, is the seat of the

Catholic Church in Los Angeles. It has nine outreach programs, which

encompass the entire city of Los Angeles. It holds masses and other

liturgical services throughout the day, every day. It is located on

5.5 acres. This Cathedral is 57,000 square feet.

St. Andrew’s is 104,000 square feet, on 3.9 acres, and wants to be

124,000 square feet, plus a parking structure, oops, sunken garage.

Recently built or proposed local church expansions include, St.

James Anglican Church, 18,000 square feet; St. Mark Presbyterian

Church, around 36,000 square feet; the Mormon church, around 39,000

square feet; Queen of Angels, around 57,000 square feet.

Let’s look at other big buildings for points of reference: the

average Home Depot, 105,000 square feet; Hearst Castle in San Simeon,

is 90,080 square feet, on 200,000 or so acres; the Walt Disney

Concert Hall, 44,000 square feet.

The above numbers suggest that our neighborhoods might fare better

with a cathedral, or a castle, rather than a neighborhood church in

our midst. They also suggest that our elected and appointed officials

and city staff have bought into St. Andrew’s ploy about the

neighborhood objections. Somehow they have accepted the proposition

that a 124,000-square-foot building is reasonable in a residential

environment.

Supt. Robert Barbot, at the Newport-Mesa Unified School District

board meeting in March perceptively said that this project is a

land-use issue. The decision needs to be a land-use decision. To

approve this outrageous expansion on the backs of two neighborhoods

that have paid the taxes and endured the impact of 104,000 square

feet since 1984 is a betrayal of the public trust.

It sets a dubious and dangerous precedent for all future

general-plan-amendment applications and other development throughout

the city. And it will make Newport Beach the laughing stock of any

municipality, large or small, regarding rational land-use policies.

Please support the real neighborhoods’ objections to this absurd

request.

* LYNDA ADAMS is a resident of Newport Heights.