Church Land Hearing Draws Crowd

Plans for a church complex on 18 acres of prime Cypress real estate drew about 600 proponents to a public hearing Monday as the City Council considered whether to extend a 45-day building moratorium it imposed in late October.

A battle is escalating between the city and Cottonwood Christian Center over how to develop church-owned acreage at Katella Avenue and Walker Street. Earlier this month, church’s leaders appealed to their 4,000 members to lobby City Hall.

But the council first heard excerpts from half a dozen letters by businesses that oppose the church’s proposal.

That prompted founding pastor Bayless Conley to say, “It would have been nice to have heard some positive letters. I almost feel like you want to put a gag on us.”

The church, whose services are broadcast nationally on Fox Family Television and to 80 other countries, has outgrown its 2.4-acre facility in neighboring Los Alamitos. Two years ago, church officials spent $13 million to buy land from six property owners in the area.

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Church officials say they expected resistance. But Conley said preliminary meetings with officials were encouraging enough that the church felt justified in proceeding with the land purchases.

The facility they hope to build would have a 4,700-seat sanctuary, a preschool, bookstore, coffee shop, meeting facilities and youth center.

City planners would prefer to see the property, which lies in a redevelopment zone, used for something that would generate more tax revenue. They envision a town center-style project with restaurants, shops and entertainment venues.

When a redevelopment zone is established, a city typically sets aside a portion of property taxes in the area to help pay for future improvements. The money also may be used to provide loans and other aid to attract businesses.

Cypress officials say they need to extend the moratorium for as long as 10 months while they develop a comprehensive plan for the entire redevelopment area, which is near the Los Alamitos Race Course and is one of the largest undeveloped parcels in northwest Orange County. Six property owners besides the church would be affected.