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Ferndale scraps zoning that limits height of church steeples

RALPH SCHWARTZ; THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
Published: Jan. 8, 2013 at 4:15 p.m. PST
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FERNDALE - The City Council voted unanimously on Monday, Jan. 7, to strike a line from residential zoning code that limits the height of church steeples.

There are currently no plans in Ferndale for a church exceeding 35 feet in height. Council wanted to eliminate a restriction that conflicts with federal law.

The height limit remained in city code after the city reversed a decision in 2005 to not allow the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to erect a spire 71 feet high, Community Development Director Jori Burnett said.

At the time, city officials decided to allow the construction out of concern that such a restriction would violate the First Amendment.

The city struck the height restriction Monday, after learning it specifically violates a 2000 federal law that prohibits local governments from unreasonably limiting religious structures.

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