Last night was an interesting meeting with an expansion on the discussion over the land use definition of "church". It was made very clear that with in the art of planning new situations develop that require attention. In 1995 a Mega-Church was not listed in a dictionary, or any planning books. Why is 1995 important, it is when our last zoning was reviewed? Today the term "Mega-Church” is defined and clearly explains what the differences between this and a "traditional church" are, and they are significant differences.
Mega-Churches have specific and unique items that do require them to be viewed differently than a traditional church. One item that did not come up last night is where the name "mega-church" first came up in this debate, please note it was directly from the applicant. Thereby it is clear he knows the difference between a "traditional church" and a "mega-church".
Again I will state what VORT has held as a strong belief since day 1, if the applicant wishes to open a church in Rockaway Twp that is the size appropriate based on our community we would be happy to see them here. We are not going to allow a project that is so detrimental to the traffic, infrastructure, environment and taxes move in and turn the residents of this wonderful town into citizens with less rights than other entities within the town.
The next meeting will be on May 19, 2004 at Morris Knolls and it is expected that a determination will be made as to if the application will stay before the planning board or move to the board of adjustments. I will write up an explanation of what the process options are how the process will move forward in a few days.
It was great to see you all last night and thank you again for your continued support.
Wow - aren't things getting exciting?? Less than one month from now all will be determined (outside of the school taking)! Literally! If the planning board keeps the application the church wins (since the truth is all the board will do is negotiate any legal compliance matters), if they boot the application VORT wins! High drama.
There is no "winner" based upon the planning boards decisions. This is not a card game. This is a fight for justice and what is right for a community. When all the lawsuits and nonsense brought upon us is over, then we can claim justice was served.
quote: Originally posted by: So Funny "Wow - aren't things getting exciting?? Less than one month from now all will be determined (outside of the school taking)! Literally! If the planning board keeps the application the church wins (since the truth is all the board will do is negotiate any legal compliance matters), if they boot the application VORT wins! High drama."
There's a LOT more 'fight' left after the next meeting. If it gets kicked to the zoning board, CC will likely immediately sue to have the venue returned to the planning board. Will zoning board meetings take place if there is a lawsuit pending? Who knows? If it stays in the zoning board, the project will probably be shut down.
If it stays in the planning board (or gets kicked back there by a court), there are still many issues left...traffic, environmental impact, etc...The current plan of record probably does NOT meet the new environmental regs. Will CC reduce parking to meet the regs? If they do, they'll have to reduce building size / seats. Will they propose a parking garage to keep the # of spots high?
Of course, during all of this, there's the parallel process going at the school board. Eminent domain is a powerful tool and 140 Green Pond Rd. probably IS the best site. If it's selected, the entire planning / zoning board process might be moot.
