The NIMBY mantra is automatic in most neighborhoods these days. If it is “big,” it gets challenged big time under the not-in-my-back yard political movement. And that goes for churches as it does for big-box stores and livestock operations.Scottsdale neighborhoods have been complaining about the development and construction of mega-churches — churches on large campuses with thousands of members, churches that often have plenty of programming day and night and all week long.
Parking and traffic understandably are the primary complaints.
Scottsdale City Council Tuesday night decided not to regulate WHERE churches can build. But Mayor Mary Manross said the council will have a chance to examine findings of a planning commission study on the impact of on neighborhoods of large gathering places, like churches.
We well know that throughout world and U.S. history, churches have been planted just about everywhere — among the people. Commonly, houses of worships have been regarded as integral to the family life of communities. They show up here and there like elementary schools. Churches are blended into the wider community and sprinkled across neighborhoods, usually through some pretty scientific demographics — a Catholic church here, the Methodists over there, Lutherans four blocks from there, and so on.
Denominations and dioceses often look at population projections and try to buy parcels as cheaply as possible in areas of future development, hoping to be perfectly positioned to “be there” when the new houses are built and filled with people — both those already adherents and the highly valuable “seekers” who would be attracted to their campuses and ministries.
Woe to a church that builds its campus too small and finds its congregants having to park all over the neighborhood. In many large cities, you find a church row, featuring one massive edifice after another up and down the streets. Many churches have their own parking ramps and underground parking.
Throughout the East Valley, there have been occasional complaints about churches erecting structures that dont blend well with neighbors structures. It happened in 2001 when The Living Word Bible Church on Brown Road in Mesa put up its three round domes, one a 2,000-seat sanctuary. Other fury has raged about bell towers and towering steel crosses that can be seen from back yards.
Many houses of worship provide easily accessible rooms for community and neighborhood meetings and election polling sites.
Predictably, the Scottsdale council heard from the faith community with a united appeal to not impose restrictions. The ramifications are obvious. An “unpopular” religion could be relegated to the boondocks.
One senses some anti-religion sentiment in some neighborhood opposition to houses of worship moving in. When Muslims began plans to build their mosque in Scottsdale, there was groveling that the neighborhood would have to repeatedly hear an imam calling believers to prayer from a minaret. There were complaints in Scottsdale that the masjid planners were standoffish about going into the neighborhood to explain their plans.
Mega-churches really arent trouble when their developers and city planners fully anticipate issues and plan to mitigate neighborhood impact. Neighbors should recognize there are a lot worst things than houses of faith across the street or alley.
