The Irenic, the all-ages venue located at the Missiongathering Church in North Park, was shut down Monday by the city of San Diego due to “zoning violations.”
According to the church’s lead pastor and executive director, Brandan Robertson, “after nearly six years of opening the doors of our church to host all-age events for the North Park community, the Irenic has been ordered by the city of San Diego to cease operations, effective immediately.”
A beloved and unique venue, The Irenic was recently restructured to ensure its viability while increasing the church’s ability to do community outreach. However, the venue was ultimately shut down because the church never applied for the 29 permits necessary to operate as a live music venue — after being involuntarily transitioned from “Church Zoning” to “Music Venue/Nightclub Zoning.”
Robertson, not stoked, said via statement on the Missiongathering website: “We believe this order is a violation of our rights as a faith community. We use our property to both bless the community and generate income to support our ministry, and are seeking legal counsel on how to proceed. It is our sincere hope that we will be able to begin hosting events again soon.”
Personally, I wish the city took this hard of a stance on scooters, versus flipping the bird to an all ages live music venue.
During the restructuring, The Irenic adopted a new logo of a pigeon carrying an olive branch to represent the word “irenic”, which means “to aim for peace.” Here’s to hoping the City of San Diego extends an olive branch…
To learn more and support the venue’s fight, visit Save The Irenic & Youth Homeless Shelter.
