Sun City Church Rental Prompts Flurry of Support, Challenges

A decision by Sun City Community Association of Huntley to rent Meadow View Lodge to a nondenominational church continued to draw fire from residents Wednesday at a contentious association meeting.

Hundreds of people came to voice their opinion, both in opposition and support, about leasing the space to the Community Christian Church. Community Christian Church, which has 14 locations in the Chicago suburbs, began holding services earlier this month.

At issue, some residents said, is not the church itself, but the notion that the board halfheartedly sought and/or ignored residents’ opinions prior to signing of three-month lease with the church.

Other issues audience members raised:

• By renting to the church, the association is setting a precedent.
• Sun City is opening itself up to discrimination lawsuits if it turns away other religious and community organizations.
• The Sun City community is paying to renovate the area, which is a private facility, the church is using.
• If the board rents one space, the question arises whether it should be renting other unused areas like the tennis courts or pool.

One supporter, a veteran, said no religious group should be disallowed as long as they follow the rules and law of the land. Another audience member felt the issue boiled down to a political battle between the board and residents.

In the opening the floor to comments at the meeting, board member Bill Ziletti reminded residents that a review of the space’s previous activity revealed it was often vacant during the hours the church had requested to use it.

“The staff then researched the governing documents specifically to room rental guidelines and found nothing that prevented the association from renting a room to this individual or group,” Ziletti said. “Because of the length of time of the commitment, staff presented the idea to the board for their input. The board unanimously – and when I say ‘unanimously’ that means all board members – unanimously agreed with the staff on their recommendation to rent to the room.”

Ziletti added that a reassessment of the three-month rental agreement would be conducted prior to its renewal, and that Sun City’s liability insurance does indeed protect the association thus making the church “no different than any others businesses that come in here.”

A suggestion from the audience was to continue the contract, because it is only fair, but let the church know within the next 10 days that the lease will not be renewed.

The issue has been so divisive that one board member, Jerry Kirschner, resigned and the board requested Huntley police’s presence at the Wednesday’s meeting.

Earlier in the meeting the board accepted Kirschner’s resignation. In his resignation letter, read aloud by a resident, he wrote that some board members had “disregarded the intent of the community on a very emotional issue.” Kirschner was not present for the meeting.

According to one association board member, the police presence was in response to “the threatening e-mails and letters that we’re getting as board of directors.”