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closeA church vs. its neighbors
The Sumner City Council members are forced to act as judges during a quasi-judicial hearing that attracts a standing-room only crowd at City Hall
Avani Nadkarni
It was standing room only as approximately 150 people huddled in the small council chambers at Sumner City Hall for the June 15 regular meeting, more than 10 times the usual crowd that turns out for such meetings.
They were there for a quasi-judicial hearing, for the appeal of Calvary Community Church being granted a conditional use permit. The permit would allow the church to expand its building and surrounding grounds to 970,000 square feet. Emotions ran high, as one of the seven appellants, all residents living in neighborhoods around the church, even broke down in tears. The job of the seven council members, however, was to listen stoically and, as City Attorney Brett Vinson instructed them, act as the judges. They were not allowed to speak with anyone related to the issue beforehand and before the hearing began, were asked to verify that they had nothing to gain from the outcome.
In a change from their usual protocol, council members were also urged not to bring their own opinions into their decision, but simply to make a decision based on several criteria: That the proposed expansion won’t be detrimental to the public welfare, that it complies with land use regulations, that it meets performance standards, that it keeps with the goals of the Comprehensive Plan and that steps are taken to minimize adverse impacts to the city.
Most of the appellants were concerned about the new roads that are proposed to be built with the expansion. Most were concerned that a new exit from the church would lead onto already-busy Valley Avenue.
“The proposed road is going to lead directly into our family room, where our daughter plays,” appellant Christina Powers said before shedding tears. “If a car goes out of control, if there is black ice, there is nothing stopping it from going (toward) my daughter. It frightens me. I’m concerned for the safety of my family.”
Former Sumner mayor Barbara Skinner also spoke against the expansion, saying that approving it would go against everything she worked on during her time on council and as mayor.
“Safeway wanted to build on this property (where Calvary now sits), council said no,” she said. “We didn’t want (this part of town) to be our commerical area ... we wanted (it) to be residential. In my mind, the city council’s job is to protect the city, the citizens. If somebody is creating a problem for everybody in the neighborhood ... now that’s a problem.”
Powers’ father-in-law, Tom Powers, said he was concerned about the traffic that the church’s expansion would bring, especially from the large majority of the church members who come from outside of Sumner.
“We have a lot of traffic there now, but when this is done it’s going to be unbelievable,” Tom Powers stated. “All (it’s) doing is dumping the traffic on Valley Avenue. (We) want it on Meade-McCumber or Parker Road. Parker Road was designed to take (the heat off of) Gary Street.”
All seven appellants were careful to note that their concerns had nothing to do with the fact that the building is a religious institution.
“It’s not about the church being good, it’s not about the church being bad; this really has nothing to do with the fact that it’s a church,” said resident Julie Moltke. “Valley Avenue presently can’t handle the traffic we have every day.”
Appellant Sara Hoime agreed.
“That’s great that Calvary is getting so popular (that it has to expand),” Hoime said. “But that location is an issue. Our concern is traffic and safety impacts on this town.”
Other concerns included the possible decline in property value due to noise and light pollution coming from an expanded church.
McCullough, who said he’s worked with churches in surrounding areas, including Puyallup, answered each appellant’s concerns. He explained that Sumner’s municipal code does not restrict the number of square feet a church can be and noted that the expansion project would meet all of the criteria it is supposed to.
“Your task tonight is ... to take the emotion out of this,” McCullough said to the council. “It’s not a rezone. It’s not changing the zone to put a Safeway in. This is a conditional use, a permitted use.”
The council will continue deliberations on June 29, although according to Vinson, they do not have to make a decision then, either. Still, the church’s neighbors are hoping to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
“For 33 years, we’ve been protecting this land,” Skinner told the council. “Consider the citizens. Consider the impact of this.”
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Is the appeal policy fair? Despite the main issue of the Calvary Community Church’s possible expansion, several appellants — and one council member — made time to bring up a side issue: The clarity of the city in explaining the appeal process to residents. “It was confusing to those writing letters as to who was able to speak tonight,” appellant Sara Hoime told council. “If we can’t even read through the code ... it’s sort of a waste.” Dozens of her neighbors wrote in, Hoime said, but unless they had specific wording in their letters, they were not considered official appellants. Councilmember Matt Richardson concurred with the residents. “Our Web site does not direct you to appeals,” he said before the hearing started, adding that council members were not allowed to respond to e-mails directly. “I would hope that we could work on that.”