Fullerton : Council Withdraws Limit on Services at Church
Responding to charges that it might be restricting the free practice of religion, the City Council reversed itself and agreed to allow the Evangelical Free Church to hold more than two services each Sunday.
The council restricted services at the church last summer because of complaints from nearby residents that parishioners were parking illegally, and causing traffic and noise problems. Each services draws an average of 2,000 to 2,500 people, a church spokesman said.
The church, at Bastanchury Road and Brea Boulevard, also is expanding into a nearby closed shopping center, adding meeting rooms, a lounge, nursery, banquet room, amphitheater and additional parking.
One of the conditions for that expansion was the church’s agreement to limit Sunday services to two.
Although church officials have tried to mitigate traffic problems, they objected on a philosophical basis to that condition, according to Larry Rennick, the church’s business administrator.
“We didn’t want to limit ourselves to the number of services for the rest of our existence,” he said.
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