Church Finds New Home in San Bruno

The former Crestmoor High School campus will very soon have another occupant. 

Already home to , a small continuation school, daycare program and the AYSO league on the weekends, the campus will also now include a church. 

The Planning Commission last week approved a conditional use permit for Central Peninsula Church, which had been looking for a new place for worship after previously meeting at Mills High School. Because of construction at that school, the church had to find a new home. 

Now, the church, which was started in Foster City 43 years ago, will be holding its Sunday services on the former Crestmoor High campus in the theater. 

Central Peninsula Church already received approval to use the site from the San Mateo Union High School District, which owns the property. But because the church’s services will bring in more people and traffic to the area, the church needed approval from the city to officially move to San Bruno. 

Several residents near the former high school campus welcomed the idea of having a church in the neighborhood. But they also expressed concerns about the potential traffic mess on Piedmont Avenue. On Saturdays, the parking lots are filled with cars as parents drop off and watch their kids play soccer in the AYSO league. 

One resident told the Planning Commission last week that some cars even park in front of her house, which can make it difficult for her and her husband to find parking of their own. 

To resolve the problem, the commissioners approved the church’s petition to use the facility with the promise that the church would only use certain parking lots and manage their own traffic issues so that neighbors could remain satisfied. The church has a congregation of about 327 people and is expecting to hold its services from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on Sundays. The church is also planning to use the facility once a week for rehearsal for its small group of musicians. 

Commissioner Mary Lou Johnson said she has personally observed how the church manages parking at its Mills High services, and she feels the situation will work out fine. As an example, she noted how residents expressed similar concerns when built its facility across from the campus on Piedmont Avenue, and they have been good neighbors ever since. 

“There is an opportunity to figure this out,” Johnson said at the meeting, “and it may require more staff direction, looking at the plans a bit more and what other issues are there without creating a hug financial hardship as well.”