CHURCH SEEKING SOAR WAIVER PROPOSED EXPANSION WOULD OCCUPY PROTECTED GREENBELT AREA.

Byline: ERIC LEACH

Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY -- Just down the hill from the Reagan Library sits a cactus and brush-covered slope of 140 acres surrounded by horse ranches, avocado orchards and farmland -- and a debate is building over its future.

On one side is Cornerstone Community Church, which wants to build a garden-like religious complex its leaders say will fit well into the Tierra Rejada Valley greenbelt just west of Simi Valley.

On the other side are some community leaders who are concerned about the size of the project and its impact on the greenbelt, which was set up by Ventura County and the cities of Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Moorpark to preserve open space separating the cities.

Some of those officials also have expressed concern about a church request for an exemption from greenbelt requirements and requirements of the county's Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources initiative.

The church leaders say they might not be subject to these rules because of federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act protections and have asked county officials to consider that federal law in the development application.

The proposed development -- which was recently submitted to the county and is months away from any kind of vote -- would include a new church complex with a 5,000-seat amphitheater, a multipurpose hall with a capacity for 1,000 people, a Bible college and headquarters for the Children's Hunger Fund, now based in Pacoima.

"We are proposing to do something green in the greenbelt," said Rick Parkinson, project manager for the proposed development, adding that the buildings (with mission-style architecture similar to the Reagan Library) would be on less than 3 percent of the property. "From our point of view it would complement the theme of the greenbelt."

The site is just east of the area where a paintball park is now located, and the land is zoned for open space with one home for every 40 acres. The Reagan Library is at the top of a hill to the southwest.

Besides the paintball park, the site for the proposed project is surrounded by open hills, with nearby nurseries, a private preparatory school, orchards, farmland, hillside homes on large lots and the library.

"Our desire is to be a blessing to the community," Parkinson said. "No portion of the area that we are proposing to develop is visible to the Reagan Library. It's a little valley. It's difficult to see this site unless you are right upon it. You can't see it from the 23 Freeway."

Mark Lunn, a spokesman for county Supervisor Peter Foy, who represents the area in question and has a ranch in the Tierra Rejada Valley, said Foy would not comment at this point because the issue hasn't been fully reviewed by county staff.

"We don't have enough information yet to draw any conclusions," Lunn said.

But some local officials are voicing concerns.

"This would be a huge complex in the greenbelt when we are all looking at how to protect the area," said Linda Parks, chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors and a leading backer of the SOAR controls and the Tierra Rejada greenbelt restrictions.

Parks is also a member of the Local Agency Formation Commission and is working with city officials in Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and Moorpark to tighten the Tierra Rejada Valley greenbelt restrictions.

"I'd be very surprised if any of the public agencies support (this church development proposal) because our goal is to preserve that area," Parks said. "This is the antithesis of open-space preservation."

The church was established 13 years ago with a Bible study group in Simi Valley of about 20-30 people and has grown into today's church with a weekly attendance of 3,000-4,000, with four services from Saturday evening through Sunday morning.

Pastor Francis Chan, the church's founder, attributed the growth in part to the group's efforts to reach out to help the community.

"We have wanted to go overboard when it comes to integrity and doing things right," he said. "Our focus has been on giving to people rather than taking."

Officials said Cornerstone has an option to buy the 139.5-acre parcel and plans to build facilities for Eternity Bible College, Cornerstone Community Church, the Children's Hunger Fund and Interactive Learning Center, along with community athletic fields.

Plans include about 100,000 square feet of buildings for the church and college and about 100,000 square feet of buildings for the Children's Hunger Fund.

Parking areas are planned for the entire complex with about 1,700 spaces, church officials said. The total project, including the cost of land and all buildings, is estimated at $40 million.

There are expected to be 300 students at the Bible college and about 35 working at the hunger fund. The total number of employees for the church and college would be 42, church officials said.

The outdoor amphitheater would be used for weekly services in lieu of a traditional indoor auditorium.

Parkinson said although the church asked county officials to consider whether it is eligible for an exception to SOAR and the greenbelt requirements because of the federal Religious Land Use law, he said church officials were not planning a confrontation over this issue.

"An election would take time and expense," he said. "If county officials feel a (SOAR) election is called for, we are willing to do that."

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos, map

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- ran in Simi edition only) Above, an artist's rendering of the proposed Eternity Bible College, Cornerstone Community Church and Children's Hunger Fund facilities. At left, the church has secured an option agreement to purchase 139 acres of land on the eastern boundary of Ventura County, adjacent to the city of Simi Valley on Tierra Rejada Road and near the Reagan Library. The church's leaders are asking county officials to consider if it is exempt from local Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources requirements under the federal Religious Land Use law.

Map:

Cornerstone Community Church site