Buffalo Grove to look at church's music academy

The Buffalo Grove plan commission will be looking at claims that a church in town is violating zoning codes by offering a music academy.

Rob Sherman, who lives near the church, said at recent village board meetings that Lord's Love Community Church was not abiding by its permitted uses.

"They can't go turning (the church) into a commercial office building," he said.

The church, at 1250 Radcliffe Road, houses the Betty Haag Music Academy, which Sherman said attracts people late into the night.

"They've got a commercial tenant with an intensive evening usage, which is the very last thing that the church would be allowed to have going on," he said.

The village board, after looking into Sherman's claims, agreed to send the issue to the plan commission even though it had approved the uses initially. The plan commission will be looking into the music academy and a day care at the church some time in October.

"The objective is not to close them down," Village Manager Bill Brimm said. "We want to get them to comply and may have to modify the ordinance slightly."

Jeomok Kim, pastor at the church, said he had not heard about the October plan commission meeting yet but said the village approved the day care and the music academy two years ago.

"We are following every regulation," he said. "This kind of special use is very helpful for the community; especially the day care is needed in this area."

Village planner Bob Pfeil said the church will have to submit a petition requesting an amendment to their special use.

"We'll define, clarify what is allowed," he said.

Meanwhile, Betty Haag, who runs the music academy in the church, defended the use, saying the traffic is limited in the area and that classes end at 8:30 p.m.

She said that Sherman, an outspoken activist on church-state issues, lives in an area within the neighborhood that cars going to the church don't even drive into.

"At most we have 10 cars every half hour to every hour," Haag said. "We've done everything possible to really try to keep everything under control."

The church moved to Buffalo Grove in 2005. Some residents objected to the church when it was first being considered in a space that was occupied earlier by the Jacob Duman Jewish Community Building.

In 2005, Sherman and some other residents in the Mill Creek Subdivision were not happy that the church was planning to open at 6 a.m. for morning services and have Bible study meetings until 9:30 p.m.

The village board and plan commission approved the church after looking into the noise issues.