Thomas MacMillan Photo
Pastor Elicio Aponte hoped to more than triple the size of the Second Star of Jacob Church, to build a temple of biblical proportions. But city zoners blocked the move, saying the multimillion dollar plan was just too big for Fair Haven.
Aponte (at left in photo), his architect, and 49 parishioners appeared at the monthly meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) on Tuesday night. They sought final approval for a proposed expansion of the Second Star of Jacob Church on Chapel Street in Fair Haven. The plan called for a 40,000 square-foot addition to what is now a 15,000 square-foot building. The project would have cost around $4 million and come complete with a 108-foot-tall steeple. The plan has been in the works for over a year and a half.
The BZA voted to deny the application. Board members said the plan was too big for the neighborhood. They agreed with two local business owners who testified that the church is too big and currently creates parking problems for the area, which would only be exacerbated by the expansion.
Tuesday’s appearance by Aponte and his supporters was their second before the BZA. The group attended last month’s meeting, where the request for expansion approval was introduced. Also last month, the City Plan Commission recommended approval of part of the request, which would have allowed the church to have only 81 parking spaces where 188 are required.
On Tuesday night, architect Ronald Zocher (pictured) presented further plan details to the BZA. He explained that the church plans call for a five-foot front yard where 17 feet are required, no backyard where a 25-foot backyard is required, a height of 62 feet where 35 feet are permitted, and 60 percent lot coverage where 30 percent is permitted. At its highest point, the top of the church’s steeple, the building would reach 108 feet tall.
When BZA Chair Cathy Weber asked if anyone was at the meeting in support of the proposal, 49 people stood up. Asked for opposition, only two rose.
One of these was Enrique Rosado, who had been the lone voice of opposition at the introduction of the church’s request last month.
Rosado (pictured) owns a business near the church, where he makes architectural panels for clients around the world. He told board members that he has owned his property for only about six months, but he has a five- or ten-year plan for the spot. That plan would be impossible if the church’s expansion were to go through, he said. “I’m on a collision course for parking resources.”
At the last meeting, Rosado explained that his sidewalks are often blocked by cars parked illegally on Sundays. After he spoke at that meeting, Rosado said, he went around and spoke with his neighbors. He said they told him they hadn’t heard anything about the expansion and they didn’t want parking problems to increase. He collected 25 signatures of neighbors opposed to the expansion, Roasado said.
One of those neighbors was Kerry Triffin, owner of Fair Haven Furniture. He was the second voice of opposition at Tuesday’s meeting.
The expanded church would be “too large a scale, too intrusive, and too destructive to local housing,” he said. “It’s not conducive to a city where people live and conduct regular lives… The scale isn’t right.”
During a recess before the vote by the board. Rosado said he would think about moving his business out of town if the church was given permission to expand. “I could move anywhere in the country,” he said. His clients are all international, so it doesn’t matter where he is, he said. If the church plan goes through, “I’ll be second guessing my investment in the city,” Rosado said.
As it happened, the board saw the church plan the way Rosado did.
“I do feel that this is too big to put there,” said Weber. The fact that the church would have less parking after expanding its capacity is a big problem, she said.
“I’m willing to listen because I guess I’m kind of soft because it’s a church,” Weber said.
“I can’t ignore the service they provide,” said board member Regina Winters.
Felipe Pastore, corporation counsel to the BZA, brought the board to the legal question at hand. “Have they shown a hardship?” he said. An applicant is required to demonstrate “hardship” when asking for zoning relief.
“What is the hardship?” Weber asked. “It’s a big building on a small lot.”
“I’m trying to block out the fact that it’s a church,” she said. “You figure that it’s going to grow. If it’s this wonderful, it is going to grow.”
The board voted four to one to deny the variance requests regarding height, yard setbacks, and parking. Winters was the dissenting vote. The board voted unanimously to deny the lot coverage variance.
After the vote, Pastor Aponte said the church would explore other options. He declined to comment on what options are now available. “We’ve got to sit down and talk about it,” he said.
Exactly right that a hardship must exist and it can't be monetary (like it costs too much to follow the law) and it can't be self-imposed (like designing a too big building on a small lot). For missing this point of law, the dissenting voter on the BZA should be dismissed.