NORTHRIDGE : Neighbors to Argue Against Church Site

Neighbors trying to block construction of a new Egyptian Coptic Orthodox church at 17431 Roscoe Blvd. in Northridge will make their case before the Los Angeles Board of Zoning Appeals today.

St. Athanasius Coptic Church volunteer Salah Ashamalla said the proposed 40,500-square-foot domed church would replace a church at 9165 Woodman Ave.

Two groups, the White Oak/Roscoe Homeowners Assn. and the Northridge Homeowners for Maintaining Residential Integrity--representing an estimated 200 to 300 homes in the area--have appealed a conditional-use permit that would allow the church in a residential zone, contending that “it is just way, way too big,” as Hank Magid, a neighbor of the project, put it.

Magid said that the proposed parking lot isn’t big enough to match the 600-seat sanctuary and that believers flocking to the church for services would jam traffic.

The hearing is at 2:15 p.m. in City Hall, Room 561-A, 200 N. Spring St.