Planned Church Deemed Too Tall

A church seeking to build a cathedral on West Midland Avenue had its plans rejected by the slimmest of margins Thursday, but will look to get the Zoning Board of Adjustment to reconsider next month.

The board approved every variance the needs to construct a cathedral, assembly hall and classroom at 55 W. Midland Ave., except for one: a variance for the height of a domed roof.

The plans call for a dome that is just over 46 feet tall. Borough code allows a maximum building height of 32 feet.

Four members voted in favor of the dome height, but the church needed five for approval. However, the board also approved a 44-foot bell tower on site.

Stuart Liebman, an attorney for the church, said his client would consider lowering the dome by three feet to appease the board. The board is scheduled to take another vote next month.

Liebman warned the board that Municipal Land Use Law usually smiles on houses of worship, citing a history of successful appeals after other zoning boards rejected similar applications.

"The religious use—it's a very protected use," he said. "We have to tolerate it. We have to accommodate it."

Board member Diane Marichal argued that the board also has to accommodate the surrounding community, which includes another house of worship, the .

"It is also our obligation to make sure that the church directly across the street, with the traffic that is there, is able to also flourish," she said.

The board's approval comes with several conditions the church has to meet. They include installing a fully functioning traffic signal to replace the pedestrian light that exists now at the entrances to the Church of the Annunciation and the planned Syriac Church.

The church also plans to add a new left turn lane to entrances at each church. 

The Syriac Church agreed never to use the cathedral and the assembly hall at the same time to ensure the 234 planned parking spaces don't fill up. Code requires 337 spaces based on the size of the planned buildings.

Residents who testified at a previous meeting believe the church will exacerbate an already difficult traffic situation they say is caused in part by students using Country Club Road as an entrance to the school. Janet Mooney, who lives near the planned church, said she has trouble getting out of her West Midland avenue driveway as it is.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment is scheduled to hold another vote on the height of the proposed dome on March 8.