to buildings reduced
Size of additions
to buildings reduced
by 8,000 square feet
BY SANDI CARPELLO
Staff Writer
Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church will drop a lawsuit against Rumson if it wins approval for a scaled-down expansion plan.
Church officials filed suit under the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, after the borough Zoning Board of Adjustment denied them a variance required for more than 19,000 square feet of additions to the church and school at the corner of Ward Avenue and Rumson Road.
In a letter sent to parishioners last week, the Rev. Joseph Hughes, pastor of Holy Cross, said he reached a compromise with the borough and plans to resubmit a scaled-down version of the church’s expansion plan to the zoning board next month.
According to borough officials, the new plan calls for about 11,000 square feet of additional space for the two buildings.
"When the borough of Rumson and Holy Cross could not reach a settlement earlier this year in federal court in Trenton, I decided to make one final attempt at resolving the matter by asking some of the town fathers to sit down and discuss the project on an informal basis," Hughes wrote.
"I am happy to report that Holy Cross and the Rumson Board of Adjustment appear to have sufficient common ground on which we can hopefully build a viable solution," he wrote in his letter. "The new approach attempts to resolve the issues of overcrowding, parking vs. size, density by scaling down the overall dimensions of the entire plan, and in particular, by making better use of the existing Holy Cross Church structure with no changes along Rumson Road."
Borough Administrator Gary Sammon, who said he could not comment on the situation due to the still-pending litigation, said he did not dispute the letter.
"I believe Holy Cross will submit their new plans in early December," he said.
Mayor-elect and current Councilman John Ekdahl did not return calls for comment.
Hughes said the revisions, which will be formally presented to Holy Cross parishioners Nov. 25, still include additional worship space; increased gathering space in the foyer for weddings, funerals, and sacraments; regular and handicapped bathrooms in the foyer; adequate storage and meeting space; five new classrooms; and a regulation gym.
"We believe this revised plan provides the borough with a project that’s workable in terms of zoning and preserves the integrity of the Holy Cross Parish complex that fits so beautifully into the scale and beauty of the town of Rumson," Hughes wrote in his letter.
The original church and school expansion plan was rejected by the zoning board in September 2002.
In that plan Holy Cross had proposed a 9,614-square-foot addition to the church to increase seating in the main sanctuary from 292 to 600. The existing church is 4,375 square feet and 20 percent of that structure would have been removed, while the remaining 80 percent would be converted to a 40-seat chapel, nave and narthex for the new church.
The church also proposed a 9,776-square-foot addition to the elementary school. Along with the new building, the plan called for changes to the parking areas, playground areas, driveway and entranceways.
Hughes will hold an information session on the proposed revisions from 7 to 9 p.m. Nov. 25 at Holy Cross Church.