THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 16, 1994 TAG: 9408160335
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONY WHARTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
The City Council's decision in the spring to prevent Calvary Revival Church from building a new sanctuary cost the city $40,000, paid to the landowner to avoid a lawsuit, officials confirmed Monday.
``What the city basically was doing, we were trying to purchase some peace,'' said Mayor Paul D. Fraim. ``We wanted to put to rest any potential civil rights litigation. And somewhere in the back of our minds was the thought of the expense of a referendum if it was carried out.''
Robert Stackhouse, attorney for the landowners, and City Attorney Philip R. Trapani declined to comment.
Council members said Trapani advised them that the city was in a dangerous legal position because of its about-face on the issue and the constitutional question of religious freedom involved.
In November, the council approved rezoning the land to allow Calvary Revival, a fast-growing church, to build a new sanctuary on 10 acres at 2357 E. Little Creek Road. City planners had recommended approval of the rezoning based on its merits.
But Councilman Randy Wright, who lives in the area, led a petition drive to overturn the zoning or hold a referendum.
The drive gathered more than enough signatures and forced the council to decide whether to retreat from its decision or allow the citywide vote. The council delayed for several weeks while seeking a compromise, but finally voted on Feb. 22 to strip the property of the zoning the church needed to build there.
Attorneys for the landowner, the family and estate of Margie K. Oliver, then told the city they were planning to sue over the decision.
Council members said the settlement probably was cheaper than defending against a lawsuit would have been, with the possibility of a much larger payment if the city lost.
``I don't ever like to give up any money for any reason,'' Wright said. ``But taken in the context of what it would cost us legally, it's something you have to do.''
Instead, the city negotiated a $40,000 settlement and paid the Oliver estate March 23. Since it is a legal matter, the council has not been required by state law to discuss it publicly.
City officials confirmed the payment, however, after The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star obtained records documenting it. They said some of the money may have been passed on to the church by the Oliver estate, but that was not part of the terms of the settlement.
In a sense, Wright said, $40,000 was the price Norfolk paid to avoid the potential embarrassment and publicity of a referendum. Because the church congregation is mostly black and the neighborhood is mostly white, some council members feared the referendum would provoke racial division in the city.
The church went on to buy the property anyway, as Pastor Courtney McBath had promised it would. But the church cannot build a sanctuary there, and church officials have not said what they will do with the land. ILLUSTRATION: Map
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