SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A judge this week ruled against a resident group who challenged the city's approval of a 54,000-square foot, 900-seat church
project in the Del Cerro neighborhood.
The resident group, Save Del Cerro, said Friday it will appeal the ruling from Superior Court Judge Carolyn M. Caietti in a lawsuit concerning All People's Church plans for a major church project on a 6-acre site at the intersection of Interstate 8 and College Avenue dubbed ``The Light Project.''
The project was initially rejected by the city council in 2024,
prompting a lawsuit from the church alleging religious discrimination.
But that lawsuit settled after the city council reconsidered its prior denial and voted the following year to approve the project.
Save Del Cerro then filed its own lawsuit, in which the group alleged
the project's environmental review was inadequate and that the new church will have major traffic impacts on the surrounding community.
In a written ruling issued Tuesday, Caietti wrote that the environmental review complied with the California Environmental Quality Act and that the project is consistent with city planning and zoning laws. The judge
wrote the environmental impact report takes ``into consideration traffic-safety impacts on vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians'' and that the project's design incorporates traffic signal and median improvements that will help maintain adequate traffic flow.
Save Del Cerro said it anticipates the appeals process to take 12 to 18 months.
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