DuPage rejects imposing limits on churches

The DuPage County Board unanimously rejected a measure imposing significant limitations on the building of churches in the county Tuesday.

Board members said the proposed zoning changes went beyond what they intended when the issue of controlling church construction was first broached. Board members said they initially wanted to control church construction and growth in residential areas.

The proposal would have required new churches in unincorporated areas to build on at least five acres, which opponents complained would limit churches to parcels along highways or industrial parks. Expansion of existing churches would have also been hindered.

"These (zoning) amendments weaken our communities, they treat religious institutions unequally to other organizations and they are unnecessary," said Dan Easley, senior warden of the vestry at Church of the Resurrection in Wheaton. "DuPage County already has the ability to prevent religious institutions or other places of assembly from building or expanding when it deems a site to have traffic, parking or other site-specific problems."

Several legal experts opposing the zoning changes questioned the constitutionality of the new rules as well.

Board member Kyle Gilgis, chairwoman of the board's development committee, said the committee should work with the county's religious community to develop a zoning ordinance for churches that will work for everyone.

"I think we missed the target on this," she said. "The development committee and staff would like another try at this."

The initiative was prompted because the county was getting applications to turn single-family residences into religious facilities. At least two such requests came from the northwest part of the county, said board member Jim Zay, who represents that area.

"This isn't an anti-church piece of legislation, this is a pro-property-rights law," he said. "What rights do people have when you think you've got a single-family house next to you and suddenly you wake up the next day and there's 40 cars at the house next door, and it's a religious institution."

Board members said church zoning regulations need to be updated, but not at the expense of making it impossible for churches to grow or build in the county. Board members complained that the county's current zoning laws for churches are outdated. Any zoning changes need to take into account churches drawing parishioners from farther away and not relying on parking counts that claim four people per car, members said.

"There are members of the religious community who want to work with us and recognize that religious institutions don't work as they used," said board member Debra Olson. "We will come up with some solutions together and not make a one-size-fits-all solution that may be bit far-reaching."

The board did not set a timeline for re-tackling the issue.