Sensible Zoning for Churches

In recent years, the location of churches in neighborhoods has been part of a larger national debate over freedom of religious expression. In a dispute over a storefront church that serves an immigrant congregation in Fountain Valley, the city sensibly has agreed to apply the same standard for a church in a commercial zone as for other organizations that do not supply tax revenue.

The Shalom Alliance Fellowship began meeting last year in a small office suite in a strip mall near a Kmart. After inspecting the church earlier this year, the city ordered it to stop holding services. The justification was that the city, like several others in Orange County, forbids churches in commercial zones. But the church’s attorneys successfully argued that the city ordinance allows lodges, fraternities and sororities, which also do not provide sales tax revenue.

The fact that city zoning allows churches in residential areas was no help to the church. Those areas in Fountain Valley largely are built out. The church made a persuasive case that the ban in a commercial area effectively would keep any new churches out of the city.

The city understandably wants to maintain the integrity of its zoning provisions, and it should be able to do so. The church should have to meet appropriate city standards for handling traffic produced by its services and other activities. But the city reversal was a wise move that shows the power of a reasonable argument. Decisions made on the basis of zoning provisions must be applied uniformly so as not to discriminate.

Mayor John Collins rightly recognized the fairness issue when he indicated that the city would allow churches to operate in commercial zones provided they addressed the problems associated with parking by congregants. It’s not always easy to make an about-face. The city deserves credit for recognizing that any ordinance needs to be applied in a reasonable way.