By Karen Vance
Enquirer contributor

As some churches grow and change into large complexes, officials and residents in some Greater Cincinnati communities are questioning whether zoning rules affecting churches should change as well.

In Clermont County, Union Township is urging churches with expansion plans to change their zoning to planned development, the same kind of zoning that trustees approved for a new Wal-Mart Supercenter in Eastgate.

Such zoning gives township officials and the public continued chances to review and comment on expansions that may occur years after a church is built. Planned developments also allow for negotiating ways to reduce complaints about increased traffic, new lights, bigger signs, even business activities that may come with a growing church.

"We have noticed that churches that are expanding in our areas are operating more like a business," said Union Township Administrator Ken Geis. "Many of them now have a business manager along with their ministers and pastors."

Asking churches to use planned-development zoning helps the township have a long-term look at land use, Geis said. That can keep neighbors apprised of expansion plans, allow for more concentration on buffer zones and landscaping, and give the township an idea about what property taxes to expect.

The Love and Faith Christian Fellowship, 3946 Hopper Hill Road, already has received approval for such a plan for their multiphase expansion efforts.

Another, the Glen Este Baptist Church, 1034 Old Ohio 74, is working on its proposal for a 24,000-square-foot educational building and expects to make the same zoning change.

"We just want to cooperate with the advice we get from the township," said Pastor Brent Snook. "We want to be as flexible as we can, and we want to be a blessing, not a problem, for the community."

The church, which has seen weekly attendance rise to more than 850 people, has been growing in phases since opening a new building in 1996 on 13 acres. It adopted a master plan about six months ago that includes the building for Bible study, adult groups and prayer meetings as well as a possible coffee shop.

While townships and municipalities have a lot of leverage in determining zoning, the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, passed in July 2000, prohibits governments from imposing a land-use regulation that puts a "substantial burden" on the religious exercise of a person or a congregation.

This is why Union Township is asking churches to change zoning rather than trying to force the issue.

In Liberty Township, where planned-development zoning wasn't being promoted, a recent church expansion led to sharp disagreements with neighbors.

A year ago, neighbors of Lakota Christian Church raised 19 concerns about a proposed 27,000-square-foot expansion at LeSourdsville-West Chester and Hamilton-Mason roads.

Eventually, the church complied with 15 of the concerns. Compromises were negotiated on the rest.

"I think we're all going to end up being good neighbors. The church is under construction and has done everything they said they would," said Margy Conditt, president of the Woodmoor Terrace Homeowners Association, which represented the neighborhood most affected by the church expansion.

But the problems between the neighborhood and the church are not isolated, said Kara Killkelley, zoning clerk of Liberty Township. Current zoning allows churches only in residential and agricultural areas.

"As churches expand, because they're only allowed to go into neighborhoods, we do get complaints about hours, noise, privacy and traffic," she said.

Conditt said, "The church next to us is now in phase three and four, and it would have been nice to know ahead of time what their plans were. If they are big, and plan to be big, why not have more planning? It would have spared a lot of hard feelings in our case."

In Warren County, residential zoning is the norm for five rural townships. But in Mason, churches are in both residential and business zones.

"If a church wants to expand and have a bookstore or a coffee shop, they have to be in a (planned development) or a business area," said Richard Fair, the city's engineer. "We've had cases where churches in residential areas wanted bigger signs, and we've said, 'No.' "

In Butler County, Hamilton allows churches in all zones except industrial. And some churches have been more interested in retail areas than residential ones, said Larry Bagford, the city's zoning inspector.

"Lately, we're seeing a lot of storefront churches starting in strip malls, so our zoning is making it possible for them to go where the people are," he said.

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E-mail kvance@fuse.net