City council in Canfield codifies into law its definition of church

Staff report

CANFIELD

Canfield city council members recently enacted legislation defining what is a church to keep a shady history from repeating itself.

City Manager Joe Warino said the city “did not want to repeat history” when a hotel with a crime-filled past was bought in 2009 with the intent of acting as a Christian retreat.

According to Vindicator files, Evergreen Motel, formerly El Patio Motel, 485 W. Main St., and Canfield Colonial Motel, 7815 Akron-Canfield Road, were closed after Canfield police and undercover members of the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force found evidence of prostitution in April 2009.

Despite those experiences, many city officials say the ordinance to define a church or place of worship was merely to “establish a written definition of a church,” Warino said.