Rezoning push eyed in church closings

Reflecting rising concern among local officials about the impact of Catholic church closings, the five members of the Dedham Board of Selectmen have notified the Archdiocese of Boston that they are considering rezoning an area around an at-risk church to restrict its redevelopment potential.

The move by the Dedham board follows a similar move by officials in Randolph last month and plans by Boston officials to convene a special group to monitor reuse of church property.

Changes in zoning aimed at the Catholic Church could be subject to legal challenge on several grounds, according to lawyers, but the discussions illustrate the apprehension with which some municipal officials are greeting the prospect that the archdiocese will close scores of churches and then sell off the property for redevelopment.

Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley plans on Tuesday to announce which of the archdiocese's 357 churches he will close this year. He has not said how many, but his spokesman has said it will be a significant number, made necessary by a shortage of priests, worshipers, and money.

In another expression of concern, the lay organization Voice of the Faithful has scheduled a vigil at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross tomorrow to raise questions about the parish-closing process. The vigil is to take place once O'Malley finishes an 11 a.m. Mass of hope and healing inside the cathedral.

The Dedham effort is being led by Selectmen chairman James A. MacDonald, a parishioner at St. Susanna Church, which has been recommended for possible closure. MacDonald and the other selectmen last week sent a letter to Bishop Richard G. Lennon, notifying him that the town has started the process of rezoning the church's property, now zoned residential, to restrict it for open space and religious purposes.

"The recent announcement that this Church could be closed and sold is of great concern to Dedham," the selectmen wrote. "Please be in contact so that we may have a meaningful discussion relative to the proposed rezoning."

MacDonald said the church has not yet responded.

In Randolph, town counsel Paul R. DeRensis has drafted, at the request of Selectman James Burgess, a proposed Town Meeting measure that would create a new overlay district to regulate the reuse of large institutional land holdings, including those of the church. The request was driven by concern over the future of St. Bernadette Church in that town.

The legality of such efforts is unclear.

"You can't use zoning to single out a single piece of property for good or ill," said Howard P. Speicher, a Boston land-use lawyer at the firm of Davis, Malm & D'Agostine.

Speicher also said cities and towns can not subject the reuse of churches to greater scrutiny or regulation than they would apply to non-church property.

"They have to treat every proposed use of land the same, regardless of who the owner is," he said.

Boston officials plan, as soon as O'Malley announces his list of closings, to launch a review of all affected properties with an eye toward making recommendations about future use, according to Boston Redevelopment Authority director Mark Maloney.

Although the mayor and some members of the City Council have been critical of the Catholic Church's handling of the church-closing process, Maloney said church properties will not be singled out.

"We're not in the business of punishing anybody -- we would just hold the church to the same high standards we would hold anyone making a major sale of property," Maloney said. "This is a very significant event, and we think it will have an impact throughout the city. We've offered to provide planning services to the church, and there will be a very comprehensive process, including enormous community input, if the use of these properties is to change."

The Rev. Christopher J. Coyne, the archdiocesan spokesman, said church officials are carefully avoiding discussion of reuse questions until after Tuesday, and is not engaging in discussions of matters such as zoning at this time.

"We're not even asking the question about what we can do with a property until after a decision has been made, so as to avoid any question about this being driven by real estate concerns or asset concerns," Coyne said.

Michael Paulson can be reached at mpaulson@globe.com.