Agua Dulce Debates Fate of a 68-Year-Old Church : Landmarks: Congregation leaders want to demolish the condemned building. The county will let the Town Council decide.

Jim Johnson agrees that the Agua Dulce Christian Church is not an architectural wonder but says its historical significance as a place where the community’s forefathers worshiped outweighs the church’s structural simplicity.

David Beaumont, a member of the church congregation, says the condemned building is hardly a landmark, is only 68 years old, needs major renovations to make it safe and should be torn down to make room for a modern facility that would better serve the needs of the growing community.

Such were the converging views expressed at a meeting of the Agua Dulce Town Council, where about 50 members of the community debated the divisive issue for nearly three hours Wednesday night.

Residents in the rural community east of Santa Clarita have debated the fate of the small, boxy building for two years. Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich became involved when the church leaders requested a demolition permit for the building in 1990.

But Johnson and other supporters asked the supervisor to hold the demolition permit and simultaneously asked the county Historical Landmarks and Records Commission to designate the site as a Point of Historical Interest.

The commission complied, but the Board of Supervisors must approve the proposal and send it to the State Historical Resources Commission, which has the final say on designating landmarks. If the agency gives the church landmark status, church leaders would have to file an environmental impact report before they could raze the building.

Antonovich, who represents the area, said he would abide by the Town Council’s recommendation on the matter, said Jo Anne Darcy, Antonovich’s Santa Clarita Valley field deputy.

“Since the Town Council is the closest point of local government, the supervisor feels they should have the right to review it,� Darcy said.

The 4-month-old Agua Dulce Town Council is one of many advisory bodies that have been created in rural communities, but they have no legislative power.

On Wednesday night, the Town Council delayed making a recommendation and agreed to meet at the church April 4 to hear further arguments and possible compromises from both sides, Councilman Nat Gould said. The public is invited to attend, he said.

A local pioneer family donated the site in 1914 for use as a community school. It was converted into a church in 1950 and donated to the Agua Dulce Christian Church the following year. The original wooden building was demolished and replaced with the present cinder-block building in 1926, Johnson said. A pitched roof was added before 1951 and a steeple in 1976.

In 1989, the county Board of Public Works condemned the building because it does not meet earthquake standards.

Beaumont’s architectural drawings of the proposed church show a building that is similar in design but could accommodate 200 worshipers--four times the number of people in the old church. It remains unclear, however, how the church or preservationists would pay for building a new structure or preserving the old one.

“Who’s going to pay for all of this?� Agua Dulce resident Carl Cooke asked.

“The congregation and other Christian churches will pitch in,� Beaumont said. “Financing will come from the church itself.�

Johnson said some residents had expressed interest in donating money and maintaining the property as a museum if it was no longer used by the church.

“There are enough old-timers willing to maintain it,� he said, referring to a petition he circulated with 300 signatures supporting the church as a historical point of interest.