Oak Park Chabad Occupancy Issue to be Mediated

OAK PARK, CA — Just how much an Oak Park synagogue in a residential neighborhood can grow its occupancy will be the subject of mediation meetings between temple leaders, neighbors and the county.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the idea, pitched by Supervisor Linda Parks, at a hearing Tuesday evening.

Chabad of Oak Park officials went before the board to appeal an earlier decision by the county’s Planning Commission that the county did not violate federal law protecting religious exercise when the panel had previously denied the synagogue’s request to double its occupancy.

Synagogue officials have sought to increase its occupancy from 70 people to 145 during weekly Saturday services and holidays.

The proposal triggered an outcry from neighbors who’ve charged it would be a precedent-setting move that would bring more traffic into the neighborhood, would be disruptive and could lead to further growth in the future.

Parks said that following mediation, the parties would “come back with an agreement that the county, the neighborhood and chabad can accept.”

Both sides they were pleased with the board’s decision.

“I think the board made a very wise decision,” Chabad attorney Philip Dunn, of the firm Dunn and Sanderson in Westlake Village, said, adding that the synagogue wanted to find a peaceable resolution.

“We’re satisfied,” resident Lenore Lewis said. “We’re pleased with that Supervisor Parks is going to study this further and that an agreement can be reached that’s best for everyone.”

Tuesday’s meeting before the board marked Chabad of Oak Park’s third attempt at having its conditional-use permit revised to allow for more people to attend services at the chabad, which is in a converted house.

In July, the Planning Commission had rejected the expansion plan over customary land use issues.

The panel took up the issue again in December at the direction of the Board of Supervisors, when proponents returned with a new argument: whether the expansion was required under the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.

Rabbis and supporters said the act came into play because their rights to practice their faith had been compromised, noting worshipers cannot easily get to another service if the chabad is full because their beliefs prohibit driving on the Sabbath.

Residents in the neighborhood oppose the expansion for several reasons, including the crowding caused when services are held.

Although a fire inspection last year showed that at least 168 people could safely occupy the converted house, Planning Director Kim Prillhart has said that zoning rules require compatibility between the chabad and surrounding homes. And chabad leaders agreed to the limitation of 70 when terms were negotiated for the permit in 1994.

Prillhart added that the federal religious act does not exempt religious institutions from local land use law, nor does the county zoning code contain special considerations for religion.

Planning staff had recommended to the board that it deny the appeal and uphold the planning commission’s approval of a 70 person limit.

On Tuesday, chabad members said their ability to practice their faith had been violated when they were turned away from services because there were too many people in the synagogue.

“Every single week, we are telling people, ‘You can’t come because you are number 71,’ ” Rabbi Yisroel Levine said during the hearing.

“I was deprived of my ability to worship,” chabad member Stuart Greenberg said, adding it was unreasonable and discriminatory.

Neighbors who opposed the expansion said they supported the chabad at its current size and that it was a land-use issue.

“It’s not about religious freedom or religious tolerance,” resident Forrest Andrews said. “It is a zoning mater.”