Church changes expansion plan

NEWPORT BEACH — The reconstruction of two buildings at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church is expected to start in June, closing a contentious chapter in the history of the church and the surrounding community.

It’s been nearly two years since the Newport Beach City Council voted to let the church add 15,000 square feet to its facilities, which are across 15th Street from Newport Harbor High School.

The church wanted to expand more than that to add a youth and family center and a parking structure, but neighbors in Cliffhaven and Newport Heights said most any expansion would worsen parking and noise problems the church was already generating.

So church officials regrouped. Now they plan to rebuild the education building and fellowship hall, close off the Clay Street entrance to the church, and modify the existing parking lot but not add to it — all without adding any square footage to the existing church facilities.

That’s bound to please the neighbors, which is one of the church’s goals.

“When we got the 15,000-square-foot entitlement, we weren’t happy nor was the community,” said Ken Williams, chairman of the church’s building committee. “We took a hard look, and … realized we needed to take a fresh look at it.”

They scrapped plans for a gym, and they decided to put one level of the fellowship hall underground.

The Clay Street side of the building, which is now bordered by a low hedge, will get new landscaping and a wall.

“We never thought it was very well done from the beginning, and I think now is a chance to enhance it,” said Bill Dunlap, a representative of Cliffhaven.

Perhaps the most important part of St. Andrews’ building plan has been including the neighbors, who in 2004 and 2005 vigorously opposed the church’s plan to expand.

They’ll be invited to a meeting May 29 to hear about the church’s plans and offer feedback, and a ceremonial groundbreaking in June will be open to the community.

“Hopefully that will be the process where we put behind us some of the past,” Williams said.

A few details are still being hammered out between neighbors and the church, such as what the Clay Street side will look like and the church’s hours of operation. But the relationship between the church and the community is improving, Williams and Dunlap agreed.

“We’re optimistic,” Dunlap said. “It’s not a done deal, but it’s the closest it’s been…. The attitude and the relationship is the best it’s been in years.”