NORTHRIDGE : Proposed Church Nearing Approval

A group of Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Christians is inching toward victory in their long struggle to win city approval for a proposed church in Northridge, although the final layout of the complex may not resemble what church leaders first envisioned.

In a hearing this week, the City Council Planning and Land Use Management Committee gave partial approval to two appeals filed in the case of the proposed St. Athanasius Coptic Church at 17431 Roscoe Blvd., said Jeri Burge, deputy city attorney. A final decision is expected from the full City Council in early October.

Neighbors, who have opposed construction of the church from the beginning, succeeded in convincing council members that the domed church should be built toward the back of the lot rather than in its planned location toward the front.

And the church, which had appealed some conditions of an earlier Board of Zoning Appeals decision, secured from the committee assurances that restrictions on hours of operation at the site would be clarified, according to representatives for both the homeowners and the church.

The property proposed for the church building is a former ranch property that is bordered on three sides by the back yards of several single-family homes. Members of the White Oak/Roscoe Homeowners Assn. said they preferred to look over their back fences at a church rather than a parking lot, and wanted the noise and pollution of the church parking lot to be as near to the street as possible, said Jack McCarthy, head of the neighbors’ group.

Lu Buckmelter, wife and associate of Jerome Buckmelter, a consultant for St. Athansius, said the church will submit a revised site plan for the complex before the final vote.

St. Athansius members have tried four times to win approval to build a new church to replace their existing 350-seat sanctuary on Woodman Avenue. The proposed church in Northridge would have 600 seats--enough, church members say, to accommodate a growing population of Egyptian immigrants in the area.