Planning Staff Cannot Bear Church Plan to Raise Cross

Until recently, the Rev. Philip C. Peace did not think of the new construction project at Shepherd of the Hills United Methodist Church in Mission Viejo as a cross to bear. He just thought of it as a cross--a 22-foot, 6-inch cross that would make the church exactly 22 feet, 6 inches taller than allowed under the county’s zoning code.

Made of two 5-inch-wide steel tubes, the cross would tower about 1 1/2 feet above the nearby 66-foot eucalyptus trees growing in the shadow of the Bank of America sign across the street.

Nonetheless, neighbors were so supportive of the project that they offered to sign petitions in favor of it.

But Monday, the Orange County Planning Commission’s staff members recommended against allowing the cross to go up.

There is no exception in the county zoning code for church crosses, said county planner Gina L. Langford, and county planners couldn’t justify a “special circumstance” finding that would allow the cross to exceed the height limits.

“They’re basically going by the book,” said Robert E. Gill, a planner with the county Environmental Management Agency. “(Community) support does not affect the zoning code.”

Peace is puzzled.

“I guess we just assumed that the cross is not the kind of thing that would be controversial, that it would detract from the area,” he said. “I don’t really see this as being an eyesore.”

The Saddleback Area Coordinating Council, a community group, considered the church’s proposal and endorsed it. So did the Aegean Hills Homeowners Assn.

Marcia Rudolph, president of the coordinating council and a board member of the homeowners group, said: “The part of the proposal that goes above the height restriction is just a piece of metal. It’s going to be basically hidden by those trees, not obtrusive to Mission Viejo residents.”

She added: “I think it’s a tempest in a teapot.”

Between the church and the San Diego Freeway is a shopping mall, with a Bank of America branch and its sign. The sign is within county height limits, but because the mall is on a hill it towers over the church and would be higher than the proposed cross.

A service station is also adjacent to the church, and behind the church grounds are railroad tracks.

The church has been planning to expand its facilities on Muirlands Boulevard for several years. The plans submitted to the county include a new sanctuary, with seating for 406, topped with a spire and the cross.

The new sanctuary building would be 31 feet high, and the spire would add another 14 feet. The church wants to build the cross on top of the spire.

Under amendments to the county zoning code that were made in 1980, the main structural components of buildings in that section of Mission Viejo can be no higher than 35 feet, Langford said.

Architectural features not for sleeping or eating purposes can extend another 10 feet, for a total height of 45 feet, according to the law. The top of the cross would be 67 feet, 6 inches from the ground.

Before the county zoning code was amended, Gill said, church structures up to 70 feet were allowed. He said he did not know why that section of the law had been changed.

Langford, who processed the church’s application, recommended approval of the sanctuary and the spire. But as for the cross, she said, “it’s very difficult to justify a height variance. There’s nothing that we could find unusual about this property.”

Gill called the negative recommendation a “soft denial” and suggested that the Planning Commission could make a finding that would justify an exception to the height rule.

The commission was scheduled to consider the church’s application Monday, but the matter was postponed for three weeks at the church’s request. Dave Neish, chairman of the church’s building commission, said he wanted to make sure the architect and church officials were present when the commission acts.

If the commission refused to approve the cross, Peace said, that decision will be appealed to the Board of Supervisors.

Aides to Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez, whose district includes the church, said Tuesday that Gaddi’s office had not been informed about the conflict.

“I think we would do all we possibly could, legally,” said Peace, explaining why the church would take the issue to the supervisors. “From the standpoint of Christian symbolism, this is very important.”

Those who live in the residential community on one side of the church apparently are supportive of the cross.

Jean Basler, whose home looks down on the church, said she and other neighbors have said they would sign a petition on the church’s behalf, if asked.

“I really don’t think anybody has any problem with it,” she said. “It’s really even silly to have to say yes or no.

“If anything, it might work to our benefit . . . remind us of something.”