Naperville church learns it never received council approval for its location after applying for a sign permit
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A Naperville church that’s been operating in violation of city ordinances for more than 20 years only learned of the situation after seeking city permission for a new sign.
The Rev. Robert Carden told the Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission at a recent meeting he was surprised when told they could not get approval for a sign with the church’s new name, Align Ministries, without first getting approval to operate a church in the industrial park where they’d been for years.
“We are actually the third church to be in our space,” he said.
The first to use Suite 17 at 1701 Quincy Ave. was Vineyard Fellowship of Naperville, which built out the space in the early 1990s and received an occupancy permit.
Community Christian Church moved in in 1993, using the location for offices and as a place where people could gather during the week because its Sunday church services were held in the Naperville North High School auditorium.
Community Christian moved to the Yellow Box on Ogden Avenue in 2001.
Carden said Grace Christian Fellowship received its occupancy permit for the Quincy Avenue facility in October 2000. They changed their name from Grace Christian to Align Ministries in 2022.
It was only when they applied for a sign permit that an oversight — the lack of conditional use approval — was discovered by the city.
“Apparently, there was no conditional use approval on file for any of the three churches that had occupied this space,” Carden said.
The Naperville Municipal Code was amended in 2007 to allow public assembly uses in industrial districts as long as they were granted conditional use approval.
Naperville community planner Adam Beaver said no record could be found for Suite 17 even though Hope Community United Church of Christ, located just a few doors away in Suite 27, received conditional use authorization in 2011.
The one-story commercial/warehouse building is zoned for industrial use and 89% of its tenants falls within the standard uses for an industrial park, Beaver said.
Align Ministries wants to continue using its 9,000 square feet as a 75-seat worship room, a ministry resource center and administrative offices.
The Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously last week to recommend the Naperville City Council grant the conditional use so the church is brought into compliance with zoning requirements and sign approval can be authorized. The next council meeting is Feb. 7.
Beaver said no code enforcement complaints have been registered since the church has occupied the space, and parking is not an issue because all Align activities are held during off-peak business hours.
