Churches Contend City Hall Meddling in Their Affairs : Regulation: City officials say disclosure of activities is needed before building permits are issued. Potential traffic and parking problems are cited.

NORWALK — Religious leaders in Norwalk contend that the city is trying to regulate church affairs through a proposed law that would require parishes to disclose their activities, including religious celebrations, before obtaining building permits.

The leaders also complain that the proposed measure, which would require additional parking for new sanctuary seating, could create undue expenses and halt church growth. “It’s micro-management of the church by City Hall,” said the Rev. Don Metcalf of the Messenger Fellowship of Norwalk. “They’re stepping past that constitutional guard of freedom of religion and the right to assemble that we have in this country.”

The Rev. John Furman of Norwalk Presbyterian Church also criticized the proposal.

“The city of Norwalk is depreciating the value of its churches, viewing us like nightclubs or bars,” Furman said. “At this time of breakdown of the family, and the problems with drugs and gangs, I think these churches are the best things going in this community.”

City officials say the law is needed to guard against traffic and parking problems that some churches have created in residential areas. There are 58 congregations in the city but only 50 churches, officials said. Some facilities are used by several congregations, bringing traffic congestion and noise to neighborhoods, they said.

Officials said they have intervened in five church-community disputes in the last decade. The new rules, they believe, would establish standards to protect both sides.

“This is not an attempt to design some solution in an ivory tower and impose it on a community,” Assistant City Manager Sanford Groves said. “Residents who live in the vicinity of churches have periodically voiced concerns that there is more traffic than they would like, and insufficient parking. We’re trying to generate discussion and find a solution that will work for everybody.”

Several church leaders questioned whether the primary reason for the law is to block a proposed Hindu temple at Pioneer Boulevard and Ferina Street. The City Council last July rejected a proposal to build the temple, and the decision recently was upheld by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert H. O’Brien. The judge ruled that the council’s decision had not deprived the organization of its right to worship freely.

The council, in rejecting the temple proposal, cited potential traffic and parking problems. Council members expressed concern that the temple, although initially slated to accommodate 30 families, would eventually serve as a “commuter church” that would draw large numbers of Hindus throughout Southern California. Members of the International Swaminarayan Satsang Organization, the group that is seeking to build the temple, said the facility would serve only members of their sect.

“It appears like this is an attempt to keep us from building,” said Natoo A. Patel, a spokesman for the group.

Officials insist that the measure is not aimed at the temple, but at the traffic and parking concerns that arose out of the controversy.

Officials were quick to point out that the law is only in draft form and the public will have ample opportunity to comment on it at upcoming public hearings before the city Planning Commission. The next hearing will be at 7 p.m. June 3. Mayor Luigi A. Vernola also has scheduled a meeting with religious leaders Tuesday to discuss the issue.

Under the proposed ordinance, churches would have to apply for permits to enlarge their facilities, to increase the size of their congregations or number of services, or to allow other congregations to use their premises.

As part of the application, the parishes would have to submit a “church program” describing activities for special holidays and religious celebrations, including details on how often events are held and how many people attend. Information on the size of congregations and their projected growth over the next decade also would be required.

To reduce parking and traffic problems, the ordinance would require churches to provide one parking space for every three new sanctuary seats--compared to the existing ratio of one space for every five seats, officials said.

Church leaders said they were surprised to learn that the city was drafting the law and questioned why they were not included in the process.

“This really comes from left field,” said the Rev. Kyle Ermoian of First Christian Church. “We’ve never been a problem with the city. Now, all of a sudden, we have all these hoops to go through. It seems like overkill, (as if) there is an agenda to make it difficult for churches to grow.”

City officials noted that the city’s guidelines for churches have not been updated since they were written in 1959, two years after the city incorporated.

“Our intent is not to regulate the way churches conduct their business,” said Don Rouly, the city’s director of economic development. “Our idea is to get an understanding of their operation, to see if there’s anything that might have a potential impact on their area.”