Synagogue expansion fight gets ugly...question of religious freedom is raised

[Poll_Blind]

MODS: Full title is "Synagogue expansion fight gets ugly As neighbors fear an increase in traffic, question of religious freedom is raised"

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

A neighborhood squabble over the proposed expansion of a synagogue in Tiburon has turned into a high-stakes battle over religious freedom.

The issue is whether Congregation Kol Shofar, the only Jewish place of worship in the wealthy Marin County community, can build two new wings onto its existing facility to serve a growing congregation, against the wishes of most people who live in the surrounding neighborhood.

--snip--

"Over 200 households have signed petitions," said Karen Nygren of the Tiburon Neighborhood Coalition, a group formed to fight Kol Shofar's plans. "It's not just a little group that is against this. We feel this is purely a land-use issue. It has nothing to do with religion."

That is not how representatives of Kol Shofar see it. Earlier this month, they enlisted help from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a national legal foundation that fights for religious freedom. Lawyers for the organization are threatening to file a lawsuit against the town of Tiburon under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 if the expansion plans are not approved.

--snip--

  I recommend that if this catches your interest to read the whole article.

PB

[JoFerret]

1. Religious expansion is rarely good

religious expansion is rarely if ever good imo.

[Zhade]

5. rAmen, brother.

I prefer to be godfree, myself. No gods, no masters.

[papau]

2. "very similar expansion of St. Hilary Church in 2000" approved ..sigh

they are polite - and say that they do not believe the conflict has anything to do with the particular religion.

[pnwmom]

3. The article is kind of confusing.

Why would they be building a 750 seat wing -- but say that attendance for events would be capped at 250?

And why only 22 new parking places? I can see that that would be a concern to neighbors.

[Behind the Aegis]

4. A little help.

The original plan called for a 750 seat addition in 2004. After complaints, they synagogue made concessions that they would cap attendance at 250. More than likely, the 750 person multi-purpose room has been redrawn, but I don't know that for certain. It is also the reason for the few additions of parking places.