Christ and St. Luke’s Church in Norfolk, Va., wants to tear down a 100-year-old building and build a modern 33,000-square-foot addition with a glass atrium estimated to cost between $11-13 million. Those plans are being opposed by several Ghent Historic District residents and the Norfolk Preservation Alliance. They oppose an unusual Norfolk city ordinance that doesn’t allow neighbors to challenge historic district changes in court. Recently they have been joined by the National Trust and the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities/Preservation Virginia.

A year ago, the city planning commission voted to allow the demolition of the church Guild House. Plans call for some of the original exterior material in the new structure, according to The Virginian-Pilot. The neighbors filed suit, challenging that decision, but a circuit court judge ruled that they did not have standing. State code allows cities to determine who can challenge decisions in historic districts. City code permits only the applicant to appeal.

The residents have three cases pending, the Pilot reported. The Virginia Supreme Court recently agreed to hear two of those cases, both of which pertain to who can challenge city code historical decisions in court. The third suit, alleging that the city planners erred in granting the demolition permit, has yet to be considered.

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