Church Expansion Proposal To Be Weighed By Cedar Grove

The Cedar Grove Zoning Board is scheduled to discuss an expansion project proposal for St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church on Tuesday.

St. Mark's, located at 5 Woodstone Dr., is looking to expand the church while adding additional parking. The proposal has brought several residents to the podium at Cedar Grove Township Council meetings.

The proposal has been scheduled to go before the Board in previous months but has been rescheduled several times, said Cedar Grove Planning Zoning Coordinator Jackie Koster.

The proposal is now back on the Board's agenda for a public meeting at 8 p.m. at Town Hall, 525 Pompton Ave. A meeting agenda is attached.

Highpoint resident Stacy Kilkenny addressed the council during a public meeting in June.

“We think (the expansion) would irrevocably decimate the area financially and ecologically,” she said, citing the removal of 111 trees to accommodate the additional parking.

Other residents of Highpoint have submitted petitions to the Zoning Board and Township Council expressing concerns over water run-off from the parking lot, additional traffic on the surrounding roads, additional noise and pollution as well as a potential negative impact on property values.

“If that application is granted by the Zoning Board, then the objectors have an ability to appeal to the governing body to overturn what the Zoning Board did,” said Cedar Grove Township Attorney Thomas Scrivo.