Board Hears Plans for New Syrian Orthodox Church Headquarters

The Board of Adjustment heard testimony from Arch Bishop Cyril Aphrem Karim, from the , and civil engineer Alexander Lapatka in regard to plans to build on and renovate the former site of the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth on Midland Avenue at their meeting Thursday night.

The plans include the demolition of two small buildings at the back of the property and the construction of a new cathedral and assembly hall. The large building visible from Midland Avenue will remain, but will get some interior renovations.

There will also be significant changes to parking on the property. The two driveways will be replaced with a single two-lane driveway across the street from the driveway for the Church of the Annunciation. Planners for the new church have agreed to not connect to Oxford Court due to concerns about traffic from neighbors.

However, Paramus zoning laws would normally require a facility like the one planned by the Syrian Orthodox Church to have 337 parking spaces, while the plan only includes 234. Civil engineer Lapatka explained that many local churches have less than the required number of spaces because not all of the church’s facilities are ever used at one time.

Arch Bishop Karim said he would agree to a stipulation saying the cathedral and assembly hall could never both be used at the same time.

Another concern of the board was the height of the cathedral’s dome, which would be over 49 feet. Normal residential zoning allows a maximum of 32-foot-tall buildings. However, Lapatka pointed out that the existing building on the property is already over 72 feet tall and the church across the street is 57, so the dome would not be out of place.

The hearing will continue during the first half of the Board of Adjustment’s meeting on April 14 at 7:30 in Borough Hall.