7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. For these reasons, we looked for property to buy or rent during the entire two years we met there. We were looking for a building which would allow us to grow, and which did not require too much remodeling or repair in order to be used as a church. I reviewed the real estate ads in the newspaper regularly, and members of the church drove all over the area between 55th and 115th Streets on the north and south and King Drive and Kedzie on the east and west, looking for suitable property. At one point, five realtors were looking for property on our behalf. The properties we found during this period were either too small for our needs, had been through a fire, were next to a tavern or liquor store, or cost over $250,000. We understood that, as a practical matter, it was impossible to get a permit for a church near a liquor store and so did not pursue those properties. When we found a former heating company building which was suitable for our needs at 8536 S. Racine. The building is located in a C1-1 zoning district, so a special use permit was necessary in order for us to use the building. However, we were desperate for a building and so we decided to go through the process to obtain a special use permit. The church entered into a contract to purchase the building, contingent on obtaining a special use permit. My first step was to meet with Alderman Murphy to enlist his support for our use of the building. He expressed his support and gave me a list of neighbors to notify that we were filing for a special use permit. The church spent $260 and many hours of labor to send certified letters to all the neighbors on the list, as required by the zoning ordinance. We also obtained a denial letter from the Department of Zoning. However, when we went to the Zoning Board of Appeals to file our application, we were told that we had used a list of registered voters rather than a list of property owners for our notice, and therefore the whole process would have to be repeated, at an additional expense of over $200. We also discovered that there was a tavern within 100 feet of the church when the Department of Planning refused to support our application for that reason. At this point, we hired an attorney with experience in zoning matters, in addition to the real estate attorney who was handling our purchase of the property. When we were finally able to refile our application, we also retained an appraiser Exhibit A-6 17. 18. 19. 19. 20. 21. to testify at our zoning hearing. Just before our hearing, our zoning attorney discovered that the tavern which was causing our zoning problems had renewed its liquor license in 1990, even though it was already within 100 feet of another church. After we had our hearing before the Zoning Board of Appeals, we and the seller had to wait one month for a decision on our application. Over all, our direct costs to obtain the zoning permit were between four and five thousand dollars. The congregation was extremely frustrated with the time it took to obtain our special use permit so that we could have a permanent meeting place. We lost three or four members over this issue, along with their financial support of the church. Many members of the church questioned my authority and my integrity because I was sure that God had provided this building for us. They believed that if God had provided the building, we would not be having the delays, expenses, and problems we were having. This led to discouragement among the church members. when we obtained our approval letter, it. was contingent on our paving the parking lot behind the building in a very specific way. We complied with these requirements at a cost to the church of approximately $10,075; we now have the only paved parking lot in the 8500 block of South Racine, in spite of the fact that there is another church and many small businesses on the block. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 19th day of September, 1994. p:clubchwa.a24 Ruta with Thomar Notary Public "OFFICIAL SEAL" Notary Public, State of Illinois Exhibit A-6 AFFIDAVIT OF MOUNT ZION CHURCH I, Jose Acevedo, being sworn upon my oath, state that I am the Pastor of Iglesia de Avivamiento Monte de Sion and that I have personal knowledge of the facts stated herein and am competent to testify thereto: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Iglesia de Avivamiento Monte de Sion is an Illinois Not-for- Worship, teaching of the Bible, baptism, and communion are all From February of 1988 to December of 1993, the church rented In 1990, we also began to outgrow our rented space. People During our search we became more acutely aware of the special In April of 1993, we located property at 3949 N. Pulaski which Exhibit A-7 7. 8. 9. subject to our obtaining a special use permit. The property is zoned 1-2. We also were able to lease parking spaces in nearby lots for use on Sunday mornings, which is the only time the church needs a significant amount of parking. The number of parking spaces we leased was adequate under the Chicago zoning ordinance. We obtained a denial letter from the Chicago Department of Zoning, ordered a zoning search, and sent notice to all neighboring property owners as required by the Chicago Zoning Ordinance. When we attempted to file our application for a special use with the Board of Appeals, they informed us that our parking did not meet the requirements of the ordinance because the parking was only available to the church on Sunday mornings. The Board of Appeals also informed us that we would need to apply separately for the church. building and each parking lot, with total filing. fees.and zoning search fees of over $1,000. We had already incurred over. $3,000 in legal fees and related expenses in our attempt to rent this property. The Zoning Board of Appeals also advised us that it was unlikely that a permit would be granted because a liquor store was located within 100 feet of the space we wanted to rent. We met with Alderman Wojcik to get his support for our permit application. He informed us that one neighborhood group was opposed to our use of 3949 N. Pulaski as a church and therefore he would not support our special use application. 10. Because of the problems with our zoning application, we decided to terminate our lease and look for other property rather than have the zoning board deny our permit. But for the requirements for a special use permit and the Illinois liquor law, we were ready, willing, and able to lease 3949 N. Pulaski for use as a church. 11. 12. 13. When we lost the property on Pulaski, the congregation became discouraged because it seemed unlikely that we would be able to find a bigger meeting place. Some members of the church became so upset with our situation. that they left the church. In late 1993, we located property at 2318 W. Foster, zoned 322. The landlord was willing to lease the property to us with a provision that we can terminate the lease if the City of Chicago attempts to shut down the church due to our failure to cbtain a special use permit. We have been meeting at this location since the beginning of 1994. Since we have moved to the property on Foster, the church has added approximately fifty new members. This property currently has adequate space for the church, but the uncertainty of our zoning situation and our current rate of growth are very stressful for the congregation and for me. If we cannot meet at our current location for any reason, we will be without a place to meet. The last time we had to look for a new location, it took us three years, and the prospect of beginning another property search, given the zoning burden placed on churches, is extremely daunting. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 22 day of September, |