Forcing Disclosures From Churches a Bad Idea, City Decides : Ordinance: Officials agree with religious leaders that the proposal, which would have required submitting details of activities and projected growth as part of the building permit process, is invasive.

Responding to protests from religious leaders, Norwalk officials are abandoning a proposal to require churches to disclose their activities before getting new building permits.

Saying the proposed law was invasive, the City Council recommended on Tuesday that the city Planning Commission, which is holding public hearings on the measure, shelve it indefinitely. The commission is expected to do so June 3.

“I think we all recognize that the ordinance is a bad draft. I recognize that the ordinance is wrong,” Mayor Luigi A. Vernola said during the council meeting. “If we have a problem with a particular church, I think we should deal with it individually.”

Under the measure, new churches and those hoping to expand or share their premises with other groups would have had to submit a church program describing activities for special holidays and religious celebrations, including details on the frequency of events and how many people attend. Information on congregation size and projected growth over the next decade also would have been required.

City planning officials decided to review city guidelines for churches after the council denied plans for a Hindu temple at Pioneer Boulevard and Ferina Street. The measure was drawn up in an effort to curb traffic and parking problems that some churches have created in residential neighborhoods. The city has 58 congregations in 50 churches, with some facilities used by several congregations.

Religious leaders, noting that fewer than five churches have posed such problems over the past 30 years, objected to the proposed law, calling it an unnecessary intrusion into their affairs. Pastors also complained that the measure’s requirement of additional parking for new sanctuary seating would add expenses and stop church growth.

Several of them said they were pleased with the council’s decision.

“This is more than fair,” said Mary Jane McIntosh, a deacon at First Christian Church at Studebaker and Leffingwell roads.

“I understand there may be some concerns in the community, but those can be addressed on an individual basis. The consensus of the clergy is that we’d be willing to work with the city to take care of any concerns the residents have.”

Some of the 35 religious leaders who met with Vernola last week to discuss their concerns said the controversy has fostered a new sense of cooperation with the city. Church heads said they plan to meet with Vernola monthly to discuss issues in the community and pledged to involve their members in local concerns, including school funding and state budget cuts.

“I know my congregation will do whatever it can, whether it’s letter writing or attending meetings, to help out,” said the Rev. John Furman of Norwalk Presbyterian Church at Rosecrans and Harvest avenues. “I have a renewed sense of confidence in the mayor and our city.”

A Hindu organization that wants to build a temple at Pioneer Boulevard and Ferina Street said the council’s decision gave them renewed hope. Last July, the City Council rejected the proposed temple, citing potential traffic and parking problems. That decision was upheld last month by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert H. O’Brien, who ruled that the council had not deprived the organization of its right to worship freely.

Some residents and church officials contended that the city wanted to use zoning changes in the proposed law to ensure that the temple would not be built, but officials said there was no link between the two.

Natoo A. Patel, a spokesman for the International Swaminarayan Satsang Organization, the group seeking to build the temple, said new plans will be submitted to the city.

Vernola did not say whether the council’s decision would affect the future of the Hindu temple.

“We’re not out to damage the churches or put restrictions on the churches,” Vernola told religious leaders during the meeting. “Your value to this community cannot be counted. You’re so important to us.”