Stafford (TX) may halt spread of churches - Mayor says move is economic(churches don't pay taxes)

STAFFORD -- This city has 55 religious institutions over seven square miles, and local leaders say enough is enough.

"Nobody wants to send a message that we're against religion because we're not," said Leonard Scarcella, who has been mayor for 34 years.

Yet Stafford's City Council is considering a zoning ordinance that would ban construction of new religious buildings or expansion of old ones in about half of the city. Congregations would have to get specific use permits from the council to build or expand in the city's other half.

Scarcella said the problem is that the churches are in danger of taking the place of other establishments. Unlike most cities, Stafford has no property tax. Instead, it relies on sales taxes, franchise taxes and other fees for the city's funds. Churches don't produce sales taxes.

The mayor said 16 of the religious institutions are now in the zone where they would be prohibited from expanding.

At least one minister said all cities, including Stafford, should try to get more churches.

"People need a place to worship," said the Rev. Peter Tuck Soon Leong, pastor of Stafford's Chinese Baptist Church. "They shouldn't restrict us."

The issue of the overabundance of churches, mosques, temples and other institutions came up last summer when some of the city's more than 15,000 residents started saying the city needed to include churches in zoning ordinances. Stafford first started zoning property use in 1997 because residents were concerned that there were too many used car lots in town.

Now, the city averages one religious institution for every eight acres, Scarcella said.

Several that have located in Stafford have done so in just the last few years. And many members of congregations travel from outside of the city to attend services.

"We welcome them here," Scarcella said. "A lot of them visit our restaurants and other businesses while they are here."

The zoning issue has percolated in other cities. For example, a church intent on moving to a South San Jose, Calif., technology park has drawn opposition from city officials who want the area reserved for new businesses.

Stafford's zoning issue has come up in two public hearings already and will probably be considered in at least one more next month. At the earliest, Scarcella said, the ordinance would take effect early next year.

The mayor said similar ordinances have been enacted in other cities and are legal.

"People should have freedom to set up churches. It is their religious freedom," said Daniel Teng, a worshipper at Houston's Evangelical Formosan Church.

"Developers opposed it because they wanted to rent storefront facilities to church groups," Scarcella said. "With the economy the way it is, they were eager to rent their property to whoever they could."

A storefront ministry usually either quickly dies out or grows so much that a larger facility is needed, Scarcella said.

The Rev. James Akindude, pastor of Celestial Church of Christ, Stafford Parish, said, "They should not limit churches because we need more churches than nightclubs and strip joints. The establishment of churches really contributes to moral consciousness of society."

At a Stafford restaurant, Delores Morant, 52, said, "I stand up as an ambassador of God. No matter what part of the city, we need a higher being. We need some direction."

Leong said his own church started as a mission of Houston's Westbury Baptist Church. The congregation bought 11 acres of land in Stafford about seven years ago and built a church there because the property was affordable.

"Now we're too crowded," he said. The church plans to begin construction of a $1.3 million family life center around the first of the year and hopes to build an even larger worship center after that, Leong said.

Worshipers come from a widespread area of Fort Bend and Harris counties. "We have services in Chinese and English, and a lot of our members are Hispanic," he said.

Scarcella said several other groups are embarking on even more ambitious projects. Hindus are spending $100 million on a temple. Not only are the craftsmen from India, but the building stone is as well.

Buddhists have begun construction on a 70-acre complex that is in the restricted area, Scarcella said. "These are really wonderful people."

Facilities already built or that have permits to build will be grandfathered in under the proposed ordinance, the mayor said.

Oddly enough, when Scarcella's own church, Holy Family Catholic Church, needed to expand almost 30 years ago, it moved from Stafford to Missouri City. Now the mayor crosses the city line to attend church.

In most parts of the country the location of churches in residential areas is governed under a "use by right" clause that would not allow the city to prevent a church from locating there beyond assuring that the building was safe. However, I couldn't really say that about Texas because of their aversion to the whole idea of zoning. I lived in Missouri City (neighbor to Stafford) for 10 years 20-30 years ago when the first zoning law was introduced in that part of Texas. My husband was on the Missouri City Plan Commission at the time.

Until 1975, or so, zoning had been considered a swear word in Southeast Texas. To be precise -- a Yankee swear word. A foreign concept that had only managed to creep into Dallas, but hadn't touched (and would never touch) Houston. Houston (the giagantic neighbor looming to the north east) prided itself on being the largest unzoned city in the country.

I know Mayor Scarcella, and I'm amazed that he has allowed ZONING in his town. Stafford city fathers (and mothers) all laughed at Missouri City when they introduced their zoning ordinance -- mainly as a way to control development on the undeveloped parts of Quail Valley Golf course. The natives considered zoning to be a foreign tool brought in by the Yankees who had moved south to work in the oil industry -- in the same league as the idea of public parks. Both ideas were concepts that generated great suspicion among the natives.

During the 1970s it was not unusual in Texas to find a lavish mansion located next door to a trailer park, or a lovely suburban home located next to an industrial plant. Scarcella, himself, built a gorgeous home right on the main highway in the middle of a commercial area. The only protection a home buyer enjoyed was to locate in a subdivision with a strong set of deed restrictions. Of course deed restrictions ultimately were declared unenforceable by the courts, for the most part, and that is when people started looking upon zoning more favorably.

But not in Stafford, which was still run by "born and bred" Stafford natives who still carried a deep aversion to the idea of "gubmint" telling them what to do with their own land.

The only thing I would like to know is what ultimately happened to the old Holy Family Catholic Church in the heart of Stafford that is mentioned in this article? When the parish moved to Missouri City and built the new church, the old church building was sold by the Diocese. However the people who bought it purchased it under false pretenses, and it turned out to be a group of Tridentine (traditional) Catholics who set up a church in opposition to the Galveston Diocese. The pastor of Holy Family and the Bishop were quite upset about the matter because many Staffor parishioners continued to attend the old church. I wonder if that church has survived? I've forgotten what they called themselves.

I could tell a lot of stories about colorful old Stafford, but I wouldn't want to bore all of you. Mayor Scarcella is a good guy, as far as I know. I'm amazed that he is still in power.

The issue of the overabundance of churches, mosques, temples and other institutions came up last summer when some of the city's more than 15,000 residents started saying the city needed to include churches in zoning ordinances. Stafford first started zoning property use in 1997 because residents were concerned that there were too many used car lots in town.

What in the world is an overabundance of churches? Were people going to 2-3 churches on Sunday??? And from the rest of the sentence, you have to assume that each person drove 3-4 cars to church.

The market will weed out churches, mosques, and used car lots if there are more than the market will bear. This sounds like classic socialism to me. The government needs to decide how many churches and car lots there are, and if they are permitted to exist, where they will be located and when they will meet.

gitmo

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