By Dan Dourian
Correspondent
May 05, 2008 06:00 am Gloucester's Zoning Board of Appeals has issued its formal written decision against the Orthodox Congregational Church's plan to build an assembly hall next to its 19th century sanctuary — and church officials are looking over the material before announcing their next move. The decision was made official last Thursday after a previous verbal decision was made during the March 27 Zoning Board of Appeals meeting. According to Alex Mattera, head of deacons at Orthodox Congregational, last week's written decision is consistent with the vocal decision made in March. The board ruled that the church was not exempt from the parking requirements of the city's zoning ordinance, meaning it would have to provide at least 58 parking spaces (one per every 100 square foot of the proposed 5,885-square-foot project) to go forward. "The zoning ordinance would make it impossible for us to do anything,"said Pastor Floyd Grace. Originally, Building Inspector William Sandborn determined that the church was exempt from the zoning ordinance because the proposed building could be considered to be part of the church. But the board reversed Sandborn's decision after several dozen Lanesville residents complained that the on-street parking would create a traffic problem. And the board determined that the new building, which would not be structurally connected to the church, would not be a worship-based facility. Currently, Washington Street in Lanesville is converted into a one-way street on Sunday mornings to provide parking, on one side, for the services. Residents argue that this arrangement would cause more traffic problems if the proposed assembly hall was to be used during the week. "We're use to tolerating parking on Sunday mornings but the hall will be used three or four times a week," said Ian Lane, a Lanesville resident. Robert Stuart, member of the Zoning Board, says that he doesn't consider the proposed building to be a worship hall, meaning it is not exempt from the parking ordinance. "Worship halls are primarily used for worship services. I consider this to be more like a function hall," he said. Leaders of the Orthodox Congregational Church disagree. They insist that the new assembly hall will only be used for fellowship gatherings and other church related events. "We see it (the proposed building) as an extension of the normal worship experience," said Peter Aberle, Pastor of youth and families. Mattera said church leaders will determine their course of action based on the details of the board's decision. "We want circulate the board's (written) decision to church leadership so they can figure out what steps should be taken," Mattera said.
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