City has little to say about growing church

Cape Girardeau city officials say they have little oversight of Christ Church of the Heartland's 73,000-square-foot expansion announced earlier this month.

The expansion will be more than double the size of the city's Osage Community Centre.

The church at 720 Bertling St. plans to expand to include a 1,500-seat main auditorium, a converted auditorium for teens with a capacity of 500 and a children's auditorium seating 400. The Rev. Zack Strong estimated the cost of the improvements at between $8 and $8.5 million, all given through private donations.

Some neighbors have concerns about the size of the expansion.

"The fact is that if they are going to have a mega-church, they should move it far enough out so they have sufficient room that they are not harassing their neighbors," said John Cook, who lives on nearby Sylvan Lane. "Already on Sundays there is so much traffic that it makes it difficult for the rest of us to leave and go to our own humble places of worship in the city

"We wish them godspeed, but we wish it for them someplace else, outside of town," said Cook.

Several other neighbors on Sylvan Lane have expressed similar concerns.

Cape Girardeau city attorney Eric Cunningham said the legal precedent is clear on the rights of places of worship. "Basically the cases said the city zoning authority does not extend over churches or sanctuaries," he said. "Now, of course, they do have to meet building codes and inspections requirements, and they do have to be operating as a church, which can sometimes be an issue, but there's not much else a city can regulate."

Christ Church is zoned in an R-1 single-family residential district.

Cunningham pointed to the landmark case of Congregation Temple Israel v. City of Creve Coeur, which ruled a municipality has limited ability to regulate and restrict the location and use of buildings or lands for places of worship.

He said the planning and zoning commission will only require the church to apply for special-use permits for its proposed cafe, day care and preschool.

Strong said he has worked with the city every step of the way. "We did take our initial plan to someone in planning and zoning because I didn't want to spend a ton of money on an architect and then have it rejected," he said.

City inspector Tony Miano said the architectural portion of the plan has been approved and the city is close to issuing the church a building permit.

Strong said the building is an expression of a congregation that is currently 550 members and rapidly growing. "We're expanding because we've just run out of room and we need more room to continue doing what we feel God has put us here to do, and that is to reach this city and this region," said Strong. "The building is just a tool; we're here to touch people."

Strong added that response to the expansion has been overwhelmingly positive. The project is expected to take 18 months to complete.

Strong said his church has never been a nuisance. "As far as I'm concerned, what better thing could come to a neighborhood than a church? To me, that's one of the best things in any neighborhood," he said. "We want to be a place that brings hope wherever we are."

tgreaney@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245