Mortara

The property Mr. Mortara coveted lies within San Leandro's so-called Industrial Sanctuary, where city leaders hope to lure employers attracted by the nearby port of Oakland and other transport hubs.

Church Turns to Higher Authority in Zoning Battle Jess Bravin 2011

Mr. Mortara went to view the property, a 46,000-square-foot facility near a plastic fabricator on Catalina Street.

Church Turns to Higher Authority in Zoning Battle Jess Bravin 2011

Mr. Mortara says he believes the city showed bad faith.

Church Turns to Higher Authority in Zoning Battle Jess Bravin 2011

Here, Mr. Mortara displays his plans for remodeling the Catalina Street building.

Church Grows With Nowhere to Go 2011

But when city officials here rejected plans to move his growing congregation to a bigger building, Mr. Mortara turned to another authority: the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Church Turns to Higher Authority in Zoning Battle Jess Bravin 2011

More than a zoning change is now at stake; after years of frustration, Mr. Mortara sold the property at a loss in 2010, meaning that if the church prevails, the city could owe Faith Fellowship $4 million or more in damages and attorneys' fees.

Church Turns to Higher Authority in Zoning Battle Jess Bravin 2011

Mr. Mortara sees his struggle with City Hall paralleled in the Old Testament books of Ezra and Nehemiah, where God acts through the Persian king Cyrus to send the Jews home from their Babylonian exile and restore their temple in Jerusalem.

Church Turns to Higher Authority in Zoning Battle Jess Bravin 2011

The congregation has grown to 2,000 members, requiring Mr. Mortara to deliver his sermon three times each Sunday to reach his entire flock.

Church Grows With Nowhere to Go 2011

The sanctuary, despite a 2003 expansion, holds just 700, requiring Mr. Mortara to deliver his sermon three times to reach his entire flock.

Church Turns to Higher Authority in Zoning Battle Jess Bravin 2011

"God will use secular means, even wicked and evil people, for his purposes," Mr. Mortara says.

Church Turns to Higher Authority in Zoning Battle Jess Bravin 2011