Rockin' church has Mesa neighbor steamed

It's located behind a nondescript strip mall, neighboring a baseball training center and an auto body shop in southwest Mesa. There's nothing in-your-face about its presence, and it could easily be mistaken for an office suite, if not for the sign on the glass door indicating the name and service hours.

But for Brad Bensen, the Ministerios La Gran Comision, a local church whose rear wall happens to stand barely 10 feet away from his backyard, almost every day is a loud reminder of its presence.

The 29-year-old Mesa resident has just about had it with the amplified music that's played, in his words, "at a Christian new-age church that plays rock music at weird hours."

Bensen said the sounds include a public-address system, a rock drummer, guitars and keyboards.

While this incident is isolated, Bensen says it can reverberate across the city, as more fledgling churches open in strip malls, closer to residences. But churches in Mesa are exempt from the city's noise ordinance, which makes it hard for police to act on such complaints. That noise ordinance is currently being reviewed by city officials.

Bensen met with church pastors in the last few years and has been repeatedly assured that they'll tone things down, but after some periods of lull, ever so often, it's back.

"It feels like someone's parked their car right outside my house, with bass music in the trunk. It's this muffled but unmistakable 'boom boom boom,'" Bensen said. "Basically they're operating a rock band three to five days a week in my backyard."

The church was closed on two occasions when the Tribune tried to contact officials there. Contact numbers noted outside the church building were not working. An online search did not produce a Web site for the Mesa location. And the church's number was not listed in the phone book or with directory assistance.

Bensen has called Mesa police several times and more recently, contacted City Hall. And, he says, while everyone, including church officials, seem to want to cooperate and work out a solution - he believes things won't get resolved unless Mesa's noise ordinance is changed.

That's because churches, no matter their location, are exempt from the ordinance.

Churches can locate in any zoning district in the city, according to Gordon Sheffield, Mesa's zoning administrator.

That, combined with the noise exemption, said Bensen, means "if someone can call themselves a church, they can pretty much play music 24 hours a day."

Bensen believes there shouldn't be blanket legal protection for churches.

Mesa officials are taking note. Vice Mayor Kyle Jones is spearheading a move to make some changes to the city's noise ordinance, but it's not yet clear if this specific problem will get addressed. Jones said the ordinance is still in a draft stage, but will be made public soon.

"Historically, churches have been exempt but they have to be reasonable," Jones said. "Special events is OK but routine noises are a challenge."

Mesa police spokesman Steve Berry confirmed there have been several noise complaints from Bensen, but that police can only work around this problem within the constraints of the law.

"The church exemption exists, and this noise seems to be related to church service, so we've tried to communicate with the church pastor and the homeowner, and have tried to get a resolution of being a good neighbor," Berry said.

The only time police can go beyond such communication is if the noise is unrelated to a church service. For instance, if there's noise outside in the parking lot, Berry said. That's not the case here.

Police, too, hope to have some clarification through any changes in the noise ordinance for future, which would outline the department's role as well as the rights of the homeowner and business or church, in this case.

In general, Mesa police have received few noise complaints about churches, Berry said. Like Bensen, he too noted that a lot of the newer churches are locating in strip mall locations these days, before they get established enough to be at a traditional church site. Councilman Dennis Kavanaugh described the situation as "challenging," especially because of the little setback between the church building and Bensen's cinder block wall in the homeowner's backyard. Plus, said Kavanaugh, "you normally don't expect warehouse use to be that noisy, especially late at night."

Kavanaugh also noted the need for good neighborly conduct and for there to be a responsible landlord.

"The building wasn't constructed to be a concert hall for a rock band," Kavanaugh said. He believes landlords need to be careful of the use they rent out their property for.

Bensen said when he moved into this house more than three years ago, he expected to hear noise during the day from a tool or body shop, given that he did live next to an "industrial" complex. But he never expected the noise to extend to any time of day or night.

"First I thought there was a bike shop playing loud music, but turned out the band was playing inside the building, on the rear wall of their building, which is closest to my house," Bensen said.

He acknowledged the church pastor was always courteous and told him not to worry, that they'd not be too loud. With police intervention over the past year or so, Bensen said things have subsided, but this March, he again awoke to music at 4 a.m.

Bensen says he fears that if the current pastor changes, the next one may not even be as accommodating, hence the need for a clearer city ordinance.

"I just want them to operate their business at ease and for me to be able to live in peace."