Neighbors Prevail; City Denies Church Expansion

After more than two hours of discussion and deliberation at a special meeting Thursday, May 24, Marinette City Council voted 8 to 0, with Alderman Dennis Colburn abstaining, to deny a conditional use permit requested by Calvary Temple Church for expansion of their facilities at 3036 Carney Ave. The action came in the form of a motion granting the request in a petition signed by 11 neighboring city residents.

The church had sought a variance to allow them to expand their facility and parking lot to serve 400 worshipers.

The neighbors who objected declared they had no problem with the religion, but felt such a large facility does not belong in the middle of a residential district. They also maintained the church operates a professional counseling facility on their premises, which is contrary to city ordinance.

The neighbor who heads the Neighborhood Preservation Society said he has lived next to the church for 21 years, and had no animosity until the present leadership of the congregation began trying to expand.

“We really do not want to move out,” the neighbor declared. “But we like to entertain, and if this is approved more trees will be gone, our privacy will be gone, and a 400-seat auditorium will be looming over us.”

The city’s Plan Commission had previously granted the variance requested by the church and approved the site plan.

At a meeting on April 12 the Plan Commission reaffirmed their approval of the project. They voted 6 to 0 to reject an appeal filed by Thomas J. Nast and Pamela Goes on March 8 and reaffirm their action that conditionally granted a conditional use permit that would allow the congregation to raze a portion of the existing church worship area, construct a larger worship area addition, and redesign the parking lot by adding a driveway entrance exiting onto Hockridge Street.

Thursday’s special council meeting began with a presentation by Nast urging the council to look at the intent of their zoning ordinance, and to fulfill it’s responsibility “to protect and preserve, so our neighborhood can remain a neighborhood.”

He said the Plan Commission erred in its decision to grant the conditional use permit, and challenged the process by which the church combined three lots into two by going through the county rather than the city. This allowed them to move two principal structures onto the main lot with the church, while the ordinance says there is to be only one primary structure per lot. The use permit, he said, should have been denied twice, once on the intent and once on the building limit in the ordinance.

There were in all 26 persons present, approximately half on behalf of the neighbors who opposed the expansion, and half members of the church who supported it. Most of them expressed their views to the Council.

There were concerns over drainage, lack of a catch basin, increased traffic, loss of privacy, snow disposal, and simply, “it’s a matter of trying to put too much in too small of an area.”

“Tonight’s deliberations will determine if our safe and quiet neighborhood remains intact,” declared Nancy Rowe.

Nick Jackson denied allegations that he operates a professional counseling service in the room he occupies on the site three or four times a week. He said it is his calling to do pastoral counseling, not his livelihood. He is a pharmacist.

Church spokesman Clifford Combs said he has been on the church board for 30 years and there were no problems until recent years. “We’d like to clear up what the problem is that they fight us every time we want to reach out to youth groups, etc.”

This is not the first time the church and its neighbors have been literally on opposite sides of the fence. In 2006 another issue concerning church expansion went to court when the church sued the city, The church was denied permission to operate a counseling service in a house it had moved onto the property.

City Attorney Jonathan Sbar displayed a large box,at least four inches thick, that he said contained his files on the issues. “This is 10 years of arguing,” he declared as he tapped the box.

He said he has been getting calls, but wanted to talk directly to the Council, “because you are the people I work for, not the people out there.” He added,”I’ve spent a lot of time and sleepless nights going through this.”

He outlined the nine issues involved in the current dispute, one of which includes a definition of professional counseling and whether or not it is going on in one of the church buildings. That use would be permitted only if someone were living in the house and the business occupied less than 25 percent of the floor space.

“I say this with a heavy heart, because counseling is good, and I’m glad you’re helping people,” Sbar told the church people, as he said it appeared there were some violations.

Alderman Colburn was concerned they were opening a large can of worms, because every church in the community has counseling, and most are located in residential areas. Sbar explained the house they were talking about had ever been given permission to be anything but a house, there are no conditional use permits and no exceptions, but it is not being used as a house. He added right now it is on a combined lot,”but if you direct me to unwind that, I will...The county combined it without my knowledge.”

“I think we need to put closure on this,” declared Alderman John Marx as he moved to have City Building Inspector Brian Minzlaff determine if indeed there is professional counseling carried on in the house on that property, and then changed his motion to one asking Minzlaff to enforce the ordinance since the church representatives had admitted there was some professional counseling conducted there. That motion passed with Alderman Carol Kempka casting the sole opposing vote.

Discussion continued, and eventually each alderman was given a list of the eight standards for conditional uses, and went through them one by one, with separate votes on each. Finding that even one requirement had not been met would have been a basis to deny the permit, but the council voted that was the case on five of the eight standards. While votes varied on each issue, the final tally,the vote that counted, was eight against granting the permit and one alderman, Colburn, abstaining.

Church members said they have run out of options, and did not know at this time if they will or will not go to court with their quest for expansion.

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