By Cristina Kumka
Staff Writer | May 9

A Fort Lee church is seeking a new home on Englewood’s East Hill. Church officials presented the city’s Planning Board with the first drawings of a 660-seat church to be built on a wooded lot off Woodland Avenue April 29.

Attorneys and planners representing Han Moory Presbyterian Church are seeking zoning and parking variances because the plan for the two-level church doesn’t meet city standards.

Church officials proposed a new building plan last week after the church withdrew a prior proposal last year.

The church building and parking lot would cover about one acre of the more than 2-acre residential property located at the corner of North Woodland Street and Palisade Avenue, according to drawings presented to the Planning Board.

The proposal calls for a two-level, 35-foot high church, above and below ground parking lots, classrooms in a fellowship hall, chapel and other rooms.

Church officials have asked the Planning Board for a zoning variance because the amount of impervious land the structure will cover exceeds the city’s limit. City zoning laws limit the amount of land covered by parking and other paved areas in a residential area by a maximum 25 percent. Church planners are proposing to cover 43 percent of the total lot.

According to building plans, the existing impervious coverage is 9,000 square feet. The church’s proposal calls for 43,000 square feet to be covered.

The church is also seeking a conditional use and parking variance of about 100 spots. City law requires 220 parking spots for the 660-seat structure but church officials say that the church’s sanctuary will not be used at the same time as other activity rooms, limiting the amount of parking needed.

A public hearing on the Han Moory Church is scheduled for May 27, 8 p.m. in Englewood Municipal Court, 75 S. Van Brunt Street.

E-mail: kumka@northjersey.com or call 201-894-6705