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Senate, House shape opinion on church use Jacksonville case prompts legislation The Associated Press SALEM - Controversy over church land-use rights in Jacksonville and Portland that have since been settled by neighborhood, church and city officials has shown the need for a statewide law, church supporters say. The Senate passed a bill last month that would prohibit cities and counties from unreasonably restricting the use of church property for new buildings and activities such as worship services, weddings and funerals. The House rejected an alternative version Tuesday and is scheduled to vote on the bill Monday. Local governments and land-use planning advocates oppose SB470, and Gov. John Kitzhaber wrote a letter to legislators last week detailing his concerns. "It is unclear what problem it is attempting to fix," Kitzhaber said in a June 8 letter to House members. But religious organizations and other supporters say the bill is needed because of the recent experiences of Sunnyside Centenary United Methodist Church in Portland and Jacksonville First Presbyterian Church in southern Oregon. "This is kind of a warning to cities and counties: Let's work this out. Let's not just stand in the way of an established institution," said Sen. Frank Shields, a Portland Democrat who has been leading the push for SB470. Before joining the Senate in 1999, Shields was a longtime pastor at the Sunnyside neighborhood church, where a meals program has served low-income and homeless people for years. But some neighbors complained the meals were attracting troublemakers, and early last year, a city hearings officer revoked the church's conditional-use permit for the program. The Portland City Council, however, directed church officials and neighbors to work on an agreement. The council approved their management plan last summer, allowing the meals program to continue with increased communication between the church, neighbors and police. In Jacksonville, the First Presbyterian Church bought some land years earlier, then submitted a conditional-use application to build a new church on the property. The Jacksonville City Council denied that application in March 2000, citing neighbors' concerns about traffic, lights and noise. At one point, the Jacksonville officials told the church that they might approve the application if the church agreed not to hold weddings or funerals. But after the City Council's makeup changed in last year's elections, the new council reconsidered the issue and approved the new church building May 15. Sen. Jason Atkinson, R-Jacksonville, attends the Presbyterian church in Southern Oregon. As a conservative Republican, he now forms an unusual alliance with Shields - a Democrat - on the issue. But opponents of the bill, including the League of Oregon Cities and the land-use watchdog group 1000 Friends of Oregon, point to Shields' and Atkinson's churches as reasons why SB470 is not needed: They note both situations were resolved at the local level. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.