Bernson Criticized : Church Revives Plan to Relocate to Chatsworth

In a reversal of their earlier decision, leaders of the First Baptist Church of Van Nuys said they will renew efforts to move their 10,000-member congregation into an affluent Chatsworth neighborhood, citing an outpouring of support from San Fernando Valley residents.

The Rev. Jess Moody, senior pastor of the church, said last week he would reconsider plans to relocate because of opposition to the move by Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson, who represents the West Valley.

But the Rev. Jim Rives, associate executive pastor, said this week they decided to push ahead because of support from outside the church. Rives said the church received many calls from people who were dismayed by Bernson’s position.

As a result, he said, the church is arranging an indefinite extension on the escrow for the $2.5-million purchase of 12 acres in Monteria Estates that was scheduled to close at the beginning of December. “We’re as determined as ever, and we’re proceeding ahead on this location,” Rives said.

Although the church is developing strategies for the relocation, Rives declined to be specific. “If this means we’ll have to go to more than one city councilman, then I guess that’s what we’ll do.”

At the same time, church leaders intensified their criticism of Bernson.

Rives said that Bernson voiced unconditional support for the relocation at a June 26 meeting with church leaders. Bernson said he would “take the heat” for the move, but asked that they maintain a low profile until after he runs for reelection in April, Rives said.

Based on those assurances, the church opened escrow only to learn that Bernson “changed his tune,” Rives said.

Bernson, however, insists that he never offered unqualified support for the plan. The councilman said church leaders must have “lapses of memory” to make such a claim.

“At no time have I ever made an unconditional statement about supporting the church if it didn’t have the support of the community,” Bernson said. “At no time have they ever been promised that they would be given support.”

Bernson said he encountered a “hornets’ nest” of opposition to the relocation from homeowners living in and around the proposed church site in Monteria Estates, which is located at the north end of Winnetka Avenue between Devonshire Street and the Simi Valley Freeway.

The councilman said he told church leaders he would “take the heat” from opponents to the move if at least 60% of the nearby residents backed the plan.

Moody announced plans to relocate the church in a Sept. 1 church newsletter. The new church would include a sanctuary, outdoor wedding chapel, fountains and jogging paths, Moody said, and would conform aesthetically to the neighborhood.

But Monteria Estates homeowners complained that construction of a large church in the residential neighborhood would create unbearable traffic problems and harm the appearance of the area. The opposition spread quickly to surrounding neighborhoods, where homeowners distributed petitions and collected hundreds of signatures that were presented to Bernson.

Moody downplayed the significance of the petitions, saying his church could muster thousands of signatures of support within hours. Moody said he believes anti-church sentiment is behind the opposition and the issue may be one of religious freedom.

Opponents say the issue has nothing to do with anti-church sentiment and everything to do with land use. For the relocation to succeed, the church must obtain a conditional-use permit to allow a church in an area where development is limited to one home for every two acres. Rives said the church has yet to apply for such a permit.

Residents of Monteria Estates--including Ray Mulokas, president of the homeowners association, and former television newscaster Christine Lund--say they have long cherished the rural atmosphere of the area.