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By Anita Varghese
Staff Writer
July 24 -- Despite
expressing emotional support,
the Planning Commission last
week placed more importance
on facts and figures than on
its faith that the Lighthouse
Christian Academy could run
a high school without the code-required
parking.
The commission last Wednesday
voted to continue for further
discussion a conditional use
permit (CUP) and variance to
allow the church -- a member
of the Foursquare Gospel Christian
Fellowship -- to operate a private
high school on its property
at 1420 and 1424 Yale Street.
“I have never decided
to vote for or against a project
solely on the basis of emotional
grounds,” said Commissioner
Julie Lopez Dad. “We have
set up certain standards and
rules that apply to everyone.
“I don’t think
it will be difficult to get
the kinds of information we
are asking,” Lopez Dad
said. “There is a nebulous
quality here and we would like
to have some firmer ground for
the decisions we make.”
The decision to continue the
CUP and variance process and
seek a more complete and detailed
application from the church
came after an emotional plea
to the commission by church
officials.
“Our current location
is an example of not having
the best facilities, but we
are grateful to have it and
have sacrificed greatly to purchase
it,” said associate pastor
Harrison Sommer. “We know
that we have a responsibility
to our neighbors to keep the
noise and traffic down and under
control.”
Sommer’s sentiments were
accompanied by similar statements
from the church’s land
use attorney, pastor and school
principal George Neos and an
army of past and present academy
students.
The church established the
academy without City approval
approximately eight years ago
to provide a four-year secondary
education in addition to a childcare
center already operating at
the site.
After the academy invited the
Santa Monica Fire Department
and City building and safety
inspectors to assess the site
in January and February as part
of an International Christian
Accreditation Association process,
the City determined that the
school building did not meet
all safety codes pertinent to
high school use and the existing
CUP does not allow high school
use.
Because the property is located
in a residential district, a
CUP is required to establish
or expand a place of worship,
child daycare center or private
school.
As documented in the property
history, use of the property
for worship services and related
Sunday school and parsonage
was approved by the City in
1968.
Two additional CUPs have been
approved to allow the Sunday
school building and yard behind
the parsonage to be used for
childcare.
The current CUP application
was submitted under protest.
The applicant contends the academy
should be exempt from CUP or
variance requirements because
high school use is a component
of a “lawfully established,
but non-conforming place of
worship.”
Lighthouse Church officials
and its lawyers also contend
that high school use is not
a modified or intensified use
of the Sunday school building
and that the City may not impose
any regulation or condition
that would impose a substantial
burden on religious exercise.
“We have received very
few complaints based on the
current (but improperly used)
agreement, which apparently
means they have been good neighbors,”
said Bruce Leach, an associate
City planner.
“Because of this, staff
has provided conditions we feel
address the concerns and allows
them to operate in a reasonable
manner while protecting the
residential neighborhood,”
he said.
Staff recommended 27 conditions
of approval, including prohibiting
heavy use of the high school
and sanctuary at the same time,
limiting the number of staff-related
vehicles on the site, constructing
a sidewalk adjacent to an alleyway
leading up to school building,
limiting total enrollment to
65 students and trimming a hedge
adjacent to improve alley traffic
flow.
Lighthouse Church desires to
enroll as many as 100 students
at the academy with 11 teachers
and support staff.
The academy has operated with
five to seven teachers and support
staff on site, with an enrollment
of between 65 and 75 students,
according to church officials.
Special subject teachers are
only on site when they teach
their subject matter, Neos said.
Lighthouse Christian Academy
primarily occupies the second
floor of an annex building,
with four traditional classrooms,
a computer lab and a ground
floor weight room. In addition
to religious education and worship
services, the sanctuary is also
used for limited classes.
A properly permitted childcare/high
school campus requires 77 parking
spaces. A total of 12 spaces
that meet City standards are
provided in the CUP proposal,
six of which are a tandem configuration.
If the variance was also approved,
the number of parking spaces
required for the existing church
and child daycare center would
be reduced from 14 to 12 spaces.
“There is no way I am
going to prioritize parking
over the mission of this school,”
said Commissioner Terry O’Day.
“What this school is doing
is impressive, and it is important
in our community to have small
schools and small class sizes.
“I went to a private
religious high school and like
some of the students here, my
family was not able to pay the
tuition and the school waived
it,” O’Day said.
“In fact, one of my chemistry
teachers gave our family a car
since we didn’t have one
at the time.”
However, the Planning Commission
concluded that the Lighthouse
Church did not provide a detailed
site plan, parking plan or student
drop-off/pick-up plan to allow
a thorough analysis by staff.
While increasing education
and childcare resources are
desirable, commissioners were
concerned that the current application
does not present a clear understanding
of all issues to ensure the
academy and childcare center
can operate at the same hours
without impacts to the surrounding
neighborhood.
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