By ROBERT LINNEHAN
The attempt by a local church to construct a parking lot on Sylvan Lake Avenue has ruffled the feathers of several nearby neighbors.
On Wednesday, March 23, representatives from the First Christ Scientist Church will appear before the Haddonfield Preservation Commission to pitch their case for a certificate of appropriateness for an 18-space parking lot.
The church purchased the piece of property in 2007 and demolished a two-story home on the lot with the intent of building a church member only lot. Because the property is in the historic district of Haddonfield, it needs to be approved by the planning board and then rezoned by the zoning board.
Borough Zoning Officer Steve Walko said that the zoning board would likely not hear the issue if the church doesn’t receive the certificate from the HPC and planning board.
Currently the church has no onsite parking. The parking lot would be for church use only and won’t be accessible by the public.
Mary Previte, a longtime next-door neighbor of the church on Kings Highway East, said a parking lot is a completely inappropriate use of a significant amount of property in the historic district. A petition against the use of the property for a parking lot has signed by 70 residents on Sylvan Lake Avenue, Roberts Avenue, and Kings Highway East, she said.
“Of course it would be convenient for the church members to have a parking lot right there so they can walk in,” she said. “But it’s in the historic district. It’s not an appropriate location.”
During school hours, when the surrounding blocks are filled with cars, Previte said she has counted the number of spaces near the church.
Having walked the area many times on a block radius down Kings Highway, Sylvan Lake, and Roberts Avenue, Previte estimated that there are 120 parking spaces around the church.
For the past five years, Ken Andres has lived on Kings Lane directly behind the proposed location for the parking lot. It’s a shame, he said, that the church wants to build the lot and change the dynamic of the neighborhood for the worse.
“The church is a preexisting non-conforming use. Now they’re trying to further intrude into the residential area, which damages the very nature and fabric of the residential neighborhood,” he said. “The church knocked down a preexisting home and now wants to put a parking lot up. Frankly, it ruins the nature of the neighborhood and it will certainly cause runoff problems, drainage problems, and additional traffic.”
Of course, Andres said there are worries that the parking lot will also negatively impact the value of surrounding homes.
It’s a relatively small congregation, Andres said, that is looking to expand beyond its reach into the neighborhood.
The church Board of Trustees declined to comment further on the application, instead pointing to statements made in a letter to the editor and an interview with Linda Conner, assistant librarian at the Christian Science Reading Room, that appeared in last week’s issue of The Haddonfield Sun.
“The church is seeking to convert this space into a parking area for 18 cars in conjunction with creating handicapped access to the church,” The Board wrote in the letter. “This space will be totally concealed from Sylvan Lake Avenue by attractive fencing and tightly planted laurel and holly bushes, 5 feet and 4 feet high, respectively, at the time of planting. The handicap ramp will be shielded by yews. The parking area will not be visible from Kings Highway.”
The church holds services every Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday mornings at 10 a.m.
