MOORPARK : Pastors Ask City for Help Leasing Space

Pastors of three Moorpark churches have asked the City Council to make it easier for congregations unable to purchase property to lease space in vacant industrial buildings.

The pastors told the City Council last week that high property prices prevent most local congregations from building their own churches.

“We’re coming into a time where the church facility as a building is going to become a thing of the past,” said Steven Day, pastor of Community Christian Church.

Day said his 200-member congregation has outgrown the elementary school where it has been meeting for more than five years.

“We could buy land and mortgage our people to death,” Day said. They prefer to lease, he said, and the only building big enough is an empty warehouse.

Once a church finds an industrial building, members have to apply for a city permit--such as a conditional use permit--which can take up to six months. Such delays can aggravate potential landlords, Day said.

City Manager Steven M. Kueny said city officials have already started discussing ways to ease the permit process for churches that lease buildings.

Day and the two other pastors also asked city officials to require future developers to reserve space for churches as they do for schools and parks.

Several large projects being considered by the City Council would set aside land for public or institutional use. Community Development Director Patrick C. Richards said such areas would be available for any nonprofit organizations, including churches.