Church receives another blessing

It was a Good Friday indeed for Calvary Chapel of the Harbour.

The Sunset Beach church, believed to be the only one in the history of the unincorporated seaside community, got its final permits April 2 from the city of Huntington Beach to move into a new location on Pacific Coast Highway.

With the church awaiting the green light from the California Coastal Commission, Calvary Chapel’s resurrection may still be a ways off. But Pastor Joe Pedick savored the victory nonetheless.

“It’s very exciting to get final approvals from the city, especially on Good Friday,” he said. “It just added to the excitement for me. I announced it Easter Sunday to the congregation, and the congregation is very excited.”

Calvary Chapel, which launched in 2003, approached the Huntington Beach Planning Commission last fall to get a conditional-use permit to move to Peter’s Landing Marina, a seaside shopping center at 16400 Pacific Coast Hwy.

The church has operated for the last seven years out of the Sunset Beach Women’s Club, which can no longer hold the entire congregation.

In December, the Planning Commission gave Calvary Chapel a conditional-use permit to move into the space at Peter’s Landing once occupied by the Red Onion restaurant. For the church to make its move, though, the coastal commission will have to approve an ordinance proposed by the City Council to allow churches in coastal zones.

“With the coastal commission, we never know,” said Tess Nguyen, an associate planner for the city. “They can take years. It’s their own schedule.”

The permits granted April 2 allow Pedick to make several tenant improvements at the Peter’s Landing site, including partitions for study rooms, an office, a meeting forum and modifications to the structure and ceiling. Pedick said he plans to start construction at the former Red Onion site, although he will have to wait for coastal commission approval before he can lead a service there.

He noted that in recent months, he has stopped counting the number of people who attend Calvary Chapel, but the crowd has visibly swelled.

Attendees often line the hall outside the main room and crowd around the Women’s Club’s doors and windows to hear the sermons.

“The overflow is even getting bigger,” Pedick said. “The overflow’s overflowing.”