Local News in Brief : Church Renovation Voted

In a surprise about-face, the congregation of First Baptist Church of San Pedro has voted overwhelmingly to renovate and preserve the 69-year-old church, rather than demolish it and build a new one.

The decision ends an unusual six-month battle over the historic church.

Church leaders wanted to tear it down rather than bring it up to earthquake safety standards. But days before church officials were to break ground for a new building, a preservationist-minded developer, Gary Larson, nominated the church for status as a Los Angeles “historic-cultural monument,” which would block demolition for a year.

The Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission, which recommends monuments to the City Council, said the church--with its thick Roman columns and broad stained-glass windows--qualified for landmark status. But the council gave only tentative approval and gave Larson and church leaders six months to work out an agreement.

After spending five years and $56,000 on plans for the new building, church leaders announced that they thought Larson’s proposal made sense.

They said it would be substantially cheaper to renovate the church than build a new one and noted that recent interest in the building’s history could attract new members.