LOS ALAMITOS : Building Use OKd for Religious Group

A religious youth group will be allowed to operate out of a building in an industrial zone for two years, the City Council has decided.

Lorani Ministry, sponsored by Grace Korean Church of Norwalk, will use the property on Portal Drive to conduct Bible study classes and other group activities for its 120 high school-age members.

“We would have liked at least three years so that we could really get a chance,” said Nitta Kim, a counselor with the group.

Council members said the city code that allows groups to operate out of the industrial area with a permit was intended to help new groups establish themselves and then move into more appropriate buildings.

“The spirit of the code is to help organizations get started, an incubator-type process,” Mayor Robert P. Wahlstrom said. “I think the length of the lease should reflect this.”

Councilman Anthony R. Selvaggi also said the city’s priority should be to retain industrial businesses in the areas zoned for such uses and not continue to allow religious and fraternal organizations to move into such zones for long periods.

“This kind of use discourages or even prevents legitimate (industrial) businesses from moving in there,” Selvaggi said. “In the long run, that harms us.”

Neighboring industrial businesses had expressed fears that the emissions, truck traffic and noise from their operations would be unsafe and interfere in the group’s activities.