The following is a Counterpoint:

By E.T. Edwards

I was once proud to acknowledge that I grew up in First Presbyterian Church, but that pride has turned to embarrassment. Its deliberate decimation of an established traditional neighborhood is inexcusable.

First Presbyterian was the first church founded within the original town of Greensboro. In 1929, when it outgrew its original location, it moved to its current site. Over the years, it has split off portions of its congregation to found several new churches. But these traditional approaches to dealing with growth have been discarded; now it prefers to destroy the value of the surrounding neighborhood. After all, who wants to live in a fine, expensive home when it is surrounded by parking lots?

The problem lies with city zoning ordinances. Churches are exempt from zoning restrictions, allowing them to acquire property and do anything they want without input or recourse from the surrounding residents. No other nongovernmental entity has this privilege.

The answer is to get the City Council to amend local zoning ordinances to require that churches acquiring noncontiguous properties in an established residential neighborhood be subject to the same rules as everyone else -- an approval hearing before the zoning commission, which would allow owners of surrounding properties an opportunity to be heard.

The members of First Presbyterian should be ashamed of being such irresponsible neighbors. I suggest that all Greensboro citizens write or e-mail the City Council to have this carte-blanche privilege reconsidered. The scourge of Fisher Park must be stopped.

The writer is a member of the Guilford County Historic Preservation Commission.