Presbyterian Church, Neighbor Turn Conflict Into Win-Win

If you're ever looking for an example of good government and good neighbors working together to find solutions, this particular story might be on the top shelf.

Thanks to a City Council that listened to all sides, a neighbor willing to compromise and a church willing to make last-minute adjustments, a neighborhood dispute that might have been acrimonious turned into a solid win-win-win for all involved.

On Monday night, the City Council voted to grant a special use permit that will allow expansion of the Fox Valley Presbyterian Church, 227 East Side Drive. The church is adding onto the building to expand its education services.

Plans call for demolition of a part of the church in order to build a new addition, resulting in a net gain of about 4,200 square feet. The space will be used for religious education, preschool education and food preparation, according to the Community Development Department synopsis.

But Andrew Mayer, 832 Longmeadow Drive, initially asked the council to reject the plan, because the noise level and foot traffic in the playground and open space area have made it difficult for his family to enjoy their own back yard.

"Because of the cul de sac, the back of my deck is 10 feet from the lot line," Mayer told the council at the City Council Committee of the Whole meeting on May 28.

Mayer said he was a confirmed member of the church and bore it no ill will, but the noise and back-yard interruptions have escalated during the past four years. A second congregation, Fruto de Vida, has been sharing the church space, which means that there are programs going on often during the day and on weekends.

Mayer's concerns were many but included "young children banging on the fence," "no adult supervision" and that he could never be sure whether the people in the church's open-space area and playground were members of either of the two congregations that share the church facilities.

"You might say that's not a big deal, but it is a big deal if they’re going to start renting out and expanding their membership by rental," Mayer said.

Third Ward Alderman Dean Kilburg said Monday night that he had visited the property over the weekend and told Mayer, "I agree with your observations. They weren’t exaggerations."   

At the May 28 COW meeting, representatives of the Presbyterian Church said they hoped to get the approval as quickly as possible so that contractors could begin work in time for the construction season.

Bart Roush, pastor of Adult Ministries, said the plan included planting of a number of trees for screening. Those are in addition to trees that previously had been added near Mayer's property line, he said.

Church officials said the Hispanic population is growing in the area and now makes up about 5 to 7 percent of the population. The Fruto de Vida congregation has grown from about 50 to about 200. 

"It's become a quite-common model for some Protestant churches to host ethnic churches," the church pastor said. "Once they grow, they tend to move on, (but) that wouldn’t prevent us from looking for that opportunity again."

"There’s a lot of theological warrant for welcoming the stranger," he said. "While I want to respect our neighbors, I want to balance that with a welcoming environment."

The situation might have ended by postponing the vote or by a hard decision to move forward, despite Mayer's objections. But 2nd Ward Alderman Don Cummings asked Mayer and the petitioners whether they might have an idea for compromise.

And that seemed to change the tenor of the meeting.

Mayer suggested that a fence along the south and east side of the property would go a long way to mitigate some of his concerns, and church officials said they would be willing to do that.

The council directed city staff to work with the two sides to come up with a plan and present it in time for the City Council meeting on Monday, June 3.

"We had a very full discussion," Community Development Director Dick Untch said when the item returned for a vote Monday night.

The result was that the Presbyterian church agreed to build a 54-inch, black, wrought-iron-style fence along its entire eastern boundary to the southeast and westward, the east edge of the Aldi property. Church representatives said the fence would cost about $8,000.

Mayer said he would work with church representatives regarding noise, and the fence would help make sure that the property is used primarily by the church congregations and their guests.

"The people who are there, I will know are supposed to be there and not just wandering onto the property," Mayer said.

Mayer and church officials signed off on the plan, and the motion passed unanimously Monday night.

"I was very pleased to see everyone in conversation," 1st Ward Alderman Charles Brown said.