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RANCHO MIRAGE WORSHIPPERS, PLANNERS DIFFER OVER CHURCH'S HEIGHT, TIMELINE
Colin Atagi
The Desert Sun
Feb 19 2009
CA
Plans for an Armenian church in Rancho Mirage might move forward next
month after being in limbo since July.
The Armenian Apostolic Church of the Desert is scheduled to go before
the city's Planning Commission March 12, a church official said.
The proposal for the 3,540-square-foot building on Vista Dunes Road
was previously scheduled for discussion in July, but church members
requested it be removed from the commission's agenda.
Shortly before that meeting, members were presented with new
conditions, including a recommendation that the church's height be
lowered, said Carolon Nigosian, parish council chairwoman.
According to city documents, church officials proposed building a
57-foot-tall structure, but city staff recommended it be lowered to
45 feet.
The city does not, otherwise, have any problems with the project,
Planning Director Randy Bynder said.
"It's just the height we feel is not compatible with the neighborhood,"
he said.
Church officials do not agree.
"All we want to do is build the building the way it was approved the
first time," Nigosian said.
The city approved a conditional-use permit for the project in 1999
and modifications in 2001, but the building permit expired in April
2005 due to inactivity, Bynder said.
An application for a new permit was submitted in August 2007, and the
project went before the Rancho Mirage Architectural Review Board in
April 2008.
Had the planning commission discussed the project last year, it
could've gone before the City Council as early as September, and a
permit could have been granted, Bynder said.
He added the planning commission could have recommended city leaders
approve the taller height.
Church officials say they shouldn't have to go through the process
again, since they finished a parish hall and met conditions required
in the original permit, which they don't believe should have expired.
"Because we already started on the project, we didn't think it felt
right they made us reapply to continue," Nigosian said. "If we had
never finished or started, that's a whole different ball game. But
we did (start)."
There are about 60 local church members with a mailing list of 300
families, she said.
The nearest completed churches are in Los Angeles and San Diego,
Nigosian said.
Colin Atagi
The Desert Sun
Feb 19 2009
CA
Plans for an Armenian church in Rancho Mirage might move forward next
month after being in limbo since July.
The Armenian Apostolic Church of the Desert is scheduled to go before
the city's Planning Commission March 12, a church official said.
The proposal for the 3,540-square-foot building on Vista Dunes Road
was previously scheduled for discussion in July, but church members
requested it be removed from the commission's agenda.
Shortly before that meeting, members were presented with new
conditions, including a recommendation that the church's height be
lowered, said Carolon Nigosian, parish council chairwoman.
According to city documents, church officials proposed building a
57-foot-tall structure, but city staff recommended it be lowered to
45 feet.
The city does not, otherwise, have any problems with the project,
Planning Director Randy Bynder said.
"It's just the height we feel is not compatible with the neighborhood,"
he said.
Church officials do not agree.
"All we want to do is build the building the way it was approved the
first time," Nigosian said.
The city approved a conditional-use permit for the project in 1999
and modifications in 2001, but the building permit expired in April
2005 due to inactivity, Bynder said.
An application for a new permit was submitted in August 2007, and the
project went before the Rancho Mirage Architectural Review Board in
April 2008.
Had the planning commission discussed the project last year, it
could've gone before the City Council as early as September, and a
permit could have been granted, Bynder said.
He added the planning commission could have recommended city leaders
approve the taller height.
Church officials say they shouldn't have to go through the process
again, since they finished a parish hall and met conditions required
in the original permit, which they don't believe should have expired.
"Because we already started on the project, we didn't think it felt
right they made us reapply to continue," Nigosian said. "If we had
never finished or started, that's a whole different ball game. But
we did (start)."
There are about 60 local church members with a mailing list of 300
families, she said.
The nearest completed churches are in Los Angeles and San Diego,
Nigosian said.