Panel Rejects Jehovah’s Witness Group’s Plan for Kingdom Hall

Members of the Camarillo Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses got a clear message from the city Planning Commission--they may not build a Kingdom Hall on the vacant lot they purchased 10 years ago specifically for that purpose.

Commission members said they understand why congregation members want to worship in the community in which they live and work. However, they said the site on Mission Drive, north of Las Posas Road, is too small, the road too narrow and the neighbors too close.

The Camarillo Congregation, formed in the 1980s, is one of the only congregations in California that does not have a place of worship, called a Kingdom Hall. There are 10 Kingdom Halls in Ventura County, with approximately 100 members each--three in Oxnard, two in Simi Valley and the Conejo Valley and one in Ojai, Santa Paula and Moorpark.

More than 50 Jehovah’s Witnesses and approximately the same number of residents opposed to the project attended Tuesday evening’s meeting. Public comment lasted two hours with both sides drastically divided, except on road safety.

Many Jehovah’s Witnesses voiced concern over driving the 118 Freeway two evenings and one day a week to reach the Kingdom Hall in Moorpark, where Camarillo members have been attending meetings because the other sites in the county are full.

“It’s very hazardous to drive 118--there’s been accidents and chemical spills,” Frank Fernandez said. “I work on an emergency crew and get called out at all hours of the day or night, and my wife has to drive that dangerous strip by herself.”

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After senior citizens, parents of driving-age children and others expressed concern about making the trip to Moorpark, just as many project opponents voiced concern about road safety--not on the 118, but on Mission Drive, the site of the proposed Kingdom Hall.

Mission Drive is already a substandard street and is unsafe for the passage of cars, bicycles and pedestrians, said opponents of the facility, which would have room for 161 people.

“Before the situation becomes more dangerous to pedestrians and residents, this must be considered before more traffic is invited into the area by an organization which dutifully proselytizes in order to spread the good word and bring ever more faithful, and cars and activities, into our residential neighborhood,” Robert Tully said.

Mission Drive is the main artery for those traveling to and from a retirement home, Camarillo Heights School and three other churches. A Planning Department study revealed that the street is approaching an unacceptable volume of traffic--4,000 to 5,000 cars on weekdays and up to 6,000 each day on weekends.

“But we agreed to make the changes necessary in our application by widening our part of the road and to put in sidewalks in that area,” said Dale Atkins, a Camarillo Congregation elder.

In addition to the issue of increased traffic, other concerns focused on the size of the lot and noise and lighting that might affect neighbors.

A Camarillo church policy, established in the mid-1970s to ensure a harmonious relationship between church sites and neighborhood residents, states that such sites be no less than 2 1/2 acres. The Jehovah’s Witness parcel is just under an acre.

“They are being discriminatory because with a Kingdom Hall we do not need 2 1/2 acres,” Atkins said. “We go in, sit down and have Bible instruction. We do not have activities, such as bazaars, like other organizations do.”

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Members said noise would not be a problem either because they meet inside, sing only three songs and have no church bells or organ music. And they said lights would only shine directly on their building, not into neighbors’ yards.

“I urge [the commission] to not shoehorn this facility onto this property,” Bill Henry said. “The exit for the 50 cars from the parking lot area would be 15 feet from my bedroom window. It will not have a positive effect on my life.”

Although the commission clearly stated it is not going to support the project, it still must take official action by adopting a resolution to that effect at its next meeting April 1. At that point, the congregation has 10 days to appeal the decision to the City Council.

The congregation must speak with regional headquarters in Houston and world headquarters in New York before deciding whether to file an appeal, Atkins said.

“I’m very disappointed in our neighbors,” he added. “They’re not being fair as far as giving us an opportunity. We are very honest, hard-working, nonviolent people.”