Four Acres, 20 Members, No Permission to Build: Los Angeles Churches Say Zoning Is Blocking Their Housing Plans

• Crossroads United Methodist in Compton wants to build 65 apartments for homeless families
• East Whittier United Methodist has four acres and just 20 active members
• Whittier’s city manager called dense housing there incompatible
• Congregation Ikar plans 60 supportive homes for formerly unhoused seniors

Churches in Los Angeles County have land and a willingness to house people, but many have been blocked by local zoning, LAist reported in June 2023, as California lawmakers debated a bill to let religious groups build affordable homes without special city approval.

In Compton, Crossroads United Methodist Church, where about 50 people typically attend services, wants to build 65 apartments for homeless families. “The world is our parish,” said the Rev Adrienne Zackery. “When the Lord’s Prayer says, ‘Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth,’ it is the responsibility of the church to meet the needs of the community.”

East Whittier United Methodist Church has a four-acre campus and just 20 active members. Paul Gardiner, an 84-year-old member, supports building 60 homes for seniors. “Basically, it’s unused land that needs to be used for good purposes, like housing,” he said. The city disagreed. “It is completely surrounded by single-family residential. Having a multistory, much more dense development there is an incompatible land use for that area,” said city manager Brian Saeki. Whittier reserves 86 per cent of its residential land for single-family homes.

Organiser John Oh of L.A. Voice said roughly 20 congregations hoped to build about 2,000 apartments, but that “roughly two-thirds of the congregations that have reached out to us can’t do anything in terms of development because of poor zoning.” The Jewish congregation Ikar planned 60 supportive homes for formerly unhoused seniors on La Cienega Boulevard, though funding meant drawing on five or six sources. “We should be fully able to build the building that we want to build without having to ask for any special exemptions,” said Ikar’s Brooke Wirtschafter.

The same tension exists in Jamaica, where church land in established residential areas can run into planning limits and neighbour objections. Before a congregation raises money at home or among the diaspora for housing on its land, it should check what the zoning allows and talk to the municipal corporation early. As these Los Angeles churches found, having the land and the will is not enough without permission to build.

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