We know you or your staff monitor this forum. With regard to your statement in the recent Montclair Times story;
“We’re neighbors now,” Ireland said. “Time for all of us to move forward and be good neighbors.”
I want to be a good neighbor too, so let me start by helping you to be a good neighbor:
A good neighbor would drop a lawsuit he is using as a bargaining chip and threat
A good neighbor is concerned about other neighbor’s quality of life and the impact from activities on his property
A good neighbor pays his fair share to support township operations and schools
A good neighbor does not mount 90 HVAC units on their roof without regard to the noise impact on others
A good neighbor would not endorse anything that affects his neighbor’s ability to make a living
A good neighbor is aware of what is going on in the community and pitches in to help those in need. (There is a good opportunity for you to be a good neighbor and help certain kids in town who just faced a recent tragedy)
Christ Church’s site plans approved Thursday, October 19, 2006
By CHRIS SAGONA of The Montclair Times
After three years of Planning Board meetings, members of Christ Church have had their prayers answered.
On Monday, Oct. 16, the Rockaway Planning Board approved Christ Church’s plans to build a complex that would include a 2,512-seat sanctuary and a school on the former Agilent Technologies’ property on Green Pond Road. The 5,400-member church acquired the 101-acre property for $10.2 million after realizing it was outgrowing its Montclair location. The church currently functions in a 900-seat Romanesque church on Trinity Place and Church Street.
Church officials maintained that efforts to win approval for redeveloping the property have met resistance from Rockaway officials who came up with a series of objections, including questioning an already granted state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) exemption.
In April 2005, the church filed a federal lawsuit against Rockaway, claiming religious discrimination. The U.S. Justice Department also filed a lawsuit to investigate Rockaway’s treatment of the church, citing the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, a federal law that protects churches from municipalities making zoning decisions that restrict freedom of religion.
Rockaway Township Mayor Louis Sceusi said he considers the church’s lawsuit and the church’s hiring of a public relations firm as tactics aimed at forcing the township to comply with the church’s wishes. Nonetheless, Sceusi and members of the Planning Board said that they felt certain that approving the site plans was appropriate.
“I cannot vote ‘yes’ because I like the plan, and I cannot vote ‘no’ because I don’t,” Planning Board Member Joseph O’Toole said. “I took an oath to follow the law.”
The board listed multiple conditions that would have to be met, including a reduction in parking spaces from the requested 1,370 to 900.
The Rev. David Ireland, Christ Church’s pastor, noted that with the exception of parking, most of the conditions were already in the church’s proposal and did not come as a surprise.
The four founders of “Voices Of Rockaway Township” (VORT), a grassroots group that opposed the church’s plans based on environmental concerns, said they are disappointed but accept the board’s decision.
“[The board] had no choice,” said VORT founder Lisa Salberg of Rockaway. “I think they did what they had to do and I respect their comments. But we still have concerns about the environment.”
Salberg noted the entire process will go back to square one if the DEP does not allow the church an exemption from the Highlands Act, a law that preserves open space and protects natural resources such as potable water that is supplied from the Highlands area to more than half of New Jersey’s residents. The exemption had been granted but the DEP is taking a second look at its exemption by the request of Rockaway Township.
Rockaway resident Chet Szymanski said he wishes his township would embrace the church.
“At first I wondered how it would affect our taxes,” Szymanski said. “But then I found out you can’t prevent any religious organization from coming to your community based on how it would affect your taxes. The other two rea-sons were traffic and environmental. How can you blame them for traffic? The business here before them had traffic five days a week. This will mostly be on Sundays. And how does a church pollute the environment? Each of these arguments doesn’t add up. And I think there’s a silent majority who knew and didn’t get involved because they’re okay with the church coming here.”
Ireland said he expects construction will begin in the autumn of 2007, with services held in the sanctuary one year later. Ireland also said he agrees with Planning Board members who said it’s time for the community to unite.
“We’re neighbors now,” Ireland said. “Time for all of us to move forward and be good neighbors.”
Remember, when ireland says that we're neighbors now, what he is really saying is that we, the taxpayers here in Rockaway Township are HIS neighbors, just like those folks who attend his circus every sunday are HIS parishioners.
Put in the most basic of terms, neighbors and parishioners were created to serve HIM and not the other way around.
It is as plain and simple as that, folks. Get used to it.
So will this guy stop attending Grace Church and move over to CC? Looking at the web site, Grace Church seems more like a real church. He may not like the Circus-like show at CC Inc. Hmmm wonder if irelands business case took that into account when he tried to forecast "churn" from other churches.
I guess Chet called a family member to put a plug in for good measure (see letters to ed today): __________________________________________
10/26/06 - Posted from the Daily Record newsroom
Religious rights at core of issue To the Editor:
I am glad to hear Christ Church of Montclair has finally been approved to build a house of worship on Green Pond Road in Rockaway Township.
It shouldn't have had to go through all the trouble it did just to freely worship.
But, what's done is done and as for the Voices of Rockaway Township," (VORT), its members should be ashamed of themselves. Their myopic understanding of the U.S. Constitution was their shortcoming.
Congratulations to Rev. David Ireland for the fight he put up and for those who truly understand the concept of freedom of religion in the United States.
What they miss is that we also have a Freedom from religion in this country. In other words, those non-believers should not be forced to subsidize that which they do not believe in.
That is why I can not understand why we did not follow this case to the Supreme Court. Churches should NOT have rights that exceed the rights of all others - - - it is simply unconstitutional to afford them special privledges.
