By TERRY BRLAS

Strongsville Post editor

Strongsville United Church of Christ has been a fixture at the center of the city in one form or another for almost two centuries. There have been a number of changes throughout the almost 200 years of existence and now the church would like residents to approve one more.

When Strongsville residents head to the polls on March 6 they will be asked to vote on Issue 5. A yes vote will change the zoning of property owned by Strongsville UCC to the west of the church on Royalton Road from residential to public facility. The combined parcels are approximately 200 feet wide by 300 feet deep. The issue must pass in Ward 3, where the church is located, and citywide.

"I wish every ballot issue would be as easy as this one," Strongsville UCC Interim Pastor John King said. "No taxes are increased, no tax dollars are spent, and what it accomplishes is to preserve the historic church on the same location. Nobody loses anything and the community gains from it. I don't know why anyone would consider this controversial at all."

The reason for the zoning request is to ensure that Strongsville UCC is positioned for future growth according to church trustee Dan Masuga.

"It's not so much of an expansion because at this particular time we don't have anything set," he said. "It's more of a precautionary thing."

The church acquired the property, which included two parcels, and residence at 19130 Royalton Road in 1985 so the church would not become landlocked should there be a time when the need for expansion came about.

The church used the house for rental income for a number of years. Inspections two years ago revealed structural repairs were required to bring the aging residential structure up to code. The decision was made in June 2010 that it was no longer cost effective to retain the existing residence on the property.

The parcels are now vacant. Considering there is no longer a property on this land, the congregation considers it proper to modify the zoning classification. Because the land is zoned residential the church is not allowed to use it for other purposes such as church picnics or outdoor worship.

"Some of the thoughts we've talked about is an outdoor worship area or maybe a meditation garden not just for our members, but maybe for the community," Masuga said. The church may plant trees surrounding the perimeter of the parcels of land. If a change to the property were to be made years from now such as installation of a parking lot, the thickened foliage would provide a buffer for those living nearby.

The property will remain unused for the foreseeable future. Church members will cut the grass and maintain the site. The hope is to beautify the land at some point.

There are no plans to turn the parcels into a parking lot at this time. The church body is growing in numbers. The need for additional parking might be in the long-term future of the church, but not in the short term.

"If the folks that built this church back in 1853 had only looked at their present needs they would have never had the property we have for the parking lot right now." King said. "We're glad they had the foresight to have more property than they needed. As the church grew and the needs changed we could adapt to that."

Strongsville UCC membership has grown by 12 percent during the past year. This reversed the trend during the previous four years where membership had been on the decline according to King.

"If that trend continues we'll eventually reach a point where our current parking space is not sufficient, but it's okay for now," he said.

Other churches have outgrown the space they occupied and were forced to move because they were landlocked. King is not saying that would happen, but the possibility of the oldest church in Strongsville leaving the center of town at some point in the distant future has crossed his mind.

"We don't want to have to do that," he said. "This has been a landmark here before the Civil War. It's an important part of the town square. We would be very sad to have to move just because we didn't have any room to grow even if it is 100 years from now."

Masuga added, "If we grew our options would be taken away (without Issue 5 passage). By it passing it won't limit our current decisions and it won't limit future decisions."

A public meeting will be held at the church on Sunday, Jan. 29 for residents that have questions. The meeting will begin at 11:45 a.m. following worship service.