
As first reported by LandUseLA.com, the Berendo Street Baptist Church, which is located in the heart of LA's Koreatown, submitted an application on Jan. 2 for its expansion project. Among the entitlements needed were a Site Plan Review and Zoning Administrator's Adjustments for reduced yard setbacks for the new buildings and the subterranean parking.
The approval letter from the Office of Zoning Administration was issued last month and became final last week when no one appealed the approval. The church received all of the requested entitlements but did withdraw its request for a reduced rear yard of 10 feet and will instead meet the 15-foot minimum rear yard.
The public hearing was mostly attended by supporters of the project. But a lawyer who represented both a neighboring medical office building and a nearby residential building spoke in objection to how closely the church was building its subterranean parking to his clients' buildings. The lawyer's clients were apparently satisfied with the church's response since the approval wasn't appealed.
The church was organized in March 1957, only the second Korean Baptist church in the United States. It has been called the "mother ship" of Korean Baptist churches in the U.S. because of its activist role in training Korean Baptist ministers and the missionary services that its members have traditionally provided around the country.
ZA Approval Letter:
http://zimas.lacity.org/reports/cee25a68541992bd86a67ad5facb9d08.pdf
LandUseLA.com: Historic Koreatown Church Plans Major Expansion
http://www.landusela.com/1/post/2013/08/historic-koreatown-church-plans-major-expansion.html