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Laurel City Council loosens zoning restrictions on churches

Parishioners at Faith Fellowship Church offer one another a sign of peace as they gather for Sunday worship in the cafeteria of Laurel High School.
Parishioners at Faith Fellowship Church offer one another a sign of peace as they gather for Sunday worship in the cafeteria of Laurel High School. (Photo by Phil Grout)

For the last 15 years, members of Faith Fellowship Community Church have worshiped every Sunday in an auditorium at Laurel High School, sending their lively music and deep-felt voices of praise echoing through the halls.

At the end of each service, they say their goodbyes, pack up their equipment and close the doors behind them.

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Their House of God, as it were, is a rental.

"Right now, we don't have a permanent home base where people can come to all the time," said church administrator Nakia Sample before a service at the school on Sunday.

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But that's all about to change, thanks to the Laurel City Council's unanimous decision Monday night to loosen the city's zoning restrictions on churches and other houses of worship, a move that Laurel Mayor Craig Moe said will "only benefit the community."

Whereas churches, convents, monasteries and other religious institutions previously had to receive a special exception to locate in most areas of the city — a process that took time and money — they are now largely permitted by right under certain criteria.

According to Darrell Terry, Faith Fellowship's senior pastor, the church couldn't find a permanent home under the previous restrictions but is now on the verge of signing a contract for a new, permanent home.

"It gives us more access," Terry said of the changes to the zoning ordinance, which were supported by the Laurel Clergy Association. "We're excited."

According to local religious leaders and city officials, in recent years, Laurel has seen a large increase in the number of smaller congregations that worship in the city but lack their own space. At times, that has led to problems of parking and noise in residential areas.

Last year, Kevin McGhee, senior pastor of Bethany Community Church, went to Moe and other city planners to see if they might work with him and other religious leaders to make the city more welcoming to new parishes in a clear, controlled way. Their response was very positive, McGhee said.

"The mayor promised last year that he would take a look at it," said McGhee, who was at the Laurel Municipal Center as the council voted for the changes Monday.

While parking and other zoning requirements will still have to be met, the new ordinance allows churches and other houses of worship to locate in most residential and some commercial areas by right on lots of more than 1 acre, while special exceptions will still have to be granted for churches wishing to locate in those zones on properties of less than an acre.

The city's office business zone designation, which includes office complexes and business parks, is now open to churches and other houses of worship regardless of acreage. The city's mixed-use and transportation-oriented zone designations are still closed to churches, except those proposed on lots of more than 1 acre that are also included in conceptual site plans and receive a special exception.

Potential economic impact

While the changes passed the council unanimously, at-large Council member Michael Leszcz qualified his approval by noting that he has serious reservations about the potential impact on the revitalization of Laurel's business sector, especially in relation to the possible establishment of more restaurants that wish to serve alcohol.

"We have the potential to hamstring economic development in the city," he said.

Though not naming them directly, Leszcz made reference to the existing law inPrince George's Countythat prohibits businesses requiring a liquor license from being located within 500 feet of a church, and to the bill currently being sponsored in the state Senate by Sen. James Rosapepe that would give the Laurel City Council the power to waive that restriction.

Leszcz said he hopes local clergy will be as "vehement about their advocacy" for Rosapepe's bill as they have been for the city zoning changes.

Allowing churches to be established all across the city could "take properties off tax rolls," Leszcz said, and there "has to be a balance" between supporting churches and allowing for economic growth.

Rosapepe said that while the county's current code says churches can consent in writing to a liquor license being approved within the 500-feet buffer, a past court case in the county determined churches have no right to make such decisions, making the entire process a bit unclear.

His bill will help clear confusion on the issue in Laurel by giving power to the "democratically elected council" to make determinations themselves, he said.

"We don't want government too involved in religion, and we don't want religion too involved in government," he said.

Chris Owens, pastor of First United Methodist Church of Laurel, said while his church doesn't condone the use of alcohol, he is in favor of allowing liquor license decisions to be made locally, as opposed to elsewhere in the county or state.

Laurel has always been a tight-knit community, and Owens is confident that city officials will work closely with his church and others when making liquor license decisions, if given that power, he said.

"The city has shown a history of trying to work with and respect communities of faith," Owens said. "I have never found the city to be antagonistic about our rights and our need to be here."

If Rosapepe's bill passes, and the city decides to allow the Italian restaurant Salute, which is within 500 feet of his church, to serve wine and beer as the restaurant's owners have requested, he likely wouldn't object, Owens said.

"As neighbors, part of our responsibility to one another is exactly that — to be neighbors, and to support and build up one another," he said.

Rosapepe said the fact that the city, the clergy association and the faith community work so well together in Laurel will be important moving forward, as the city looks to strike the right balance in its revitalization efforts.

"We want a good quality of life, and churches and restaurants are both part of that, so the fact that they are working together is a positive," Rosapepe said.

At a hearing on his bill on Friday before the Senate's Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee, Rosapepe said his legislative colleagues expressed no opposition, and he expects the bill will pass.

Terry said progress will also be made soon on Faith Fellowship's relocation, though he declined to name where in the city the church is looking to move.

Dexter Sutton, assistant pastor of Faith Fellowship, said the church's congregation is excited by the prospect of their new home.

"The whole concept of what this church is about is reaching out to the community," he said.

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