By CLAIRE KNAPP Staff Writer
Too Costly
RANDOLPH TWP. – Chabad of Randolph will no longer use a house on West Hanover Avenue for religious functions because of the high cost of complying with state and local laws, officials said.
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The township received complaints in the early fall from neighbors of the Chabad house regarding parking, traffic and the lack of pedestrian safety.
Authorities subsequently issued notices of building, fire and health and zoning violations on the home of Rabbi Avraham Bechor at 48 West Hanover Ave. Authorities said the residence was not approved as a place of assembly and a religious school for children.
Chabad is the outreach for the orthodox Lubavitch sect of Judiasm. The Chabad center offers various programs for all levels of the Jewish community. The center was at a home in Ironia before it transferred to the single-family home on West Hanover Avenue this summer.
Officials had originally delayed issuing citations to avoid disrupting the congregation’s celebration of the High Holy days in November.
An agreement between Bechor and officials was reached allowing the rabbi to continue holding small Saturday gatherings of 10 to 13 people. Two children’s religious classes were moved to the Mount Freedom Center. Small prayer groups of five or six people were also allowed, as well as private counseling sessions between the rabbi and a congregant.
The agreement stipulated that further action would be deferred if Bechor applied for variances to the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
Howard Speer, a land use attorney for Bechor, said on Dec. 5 that his client had decided not to pursue the matter.
“Because of expenses that might be involved, he will be using the property only as a single family residence,” said Speer.
Township Manager John Lovell said Bechor has notified Municipal Court Judge Ira Cohen that the group does not intend to seek the required variances, citing “economic hardship.”
“There are significant costs involved if they want to use the property as a place of assembly,” said Lovell. “To apply to the Board of Adjustment they would need an engineering design for the site plan and incur legal fees. An environmental impact study would be needed because of wetlands on the property. Once they got over that hurdle, the building itself remains a problem.”
Lovell said structural changes would be required to provide handicap access, and state fire safety codes are more stringent requirements for places of assembly than for private residences. Probably the most expensive requirement would be installation of “fire walls” to separate the residence from the assembly hall.
Lovell said the Chabad center also would have to receive approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection because the only available parking area would have infringed on a wetlands buffer area.
The house had originally been built as a single-family home and does not have adequate parking for congregants. Additionally, the septic system was not designed to accommodate places of assembly, officials said.
Even as a single-family residence, Lovell said Bechor could still hold private counseling sessions with one or two congregants, but even the holding of a “minyan” is now in question. A minyan is the Jewish term for the minimum of 10 males required to hold a religious service.
“We’ve been told by the state Department of Community Affairs (DCA) that minyanswould not be allowed because they are regularly scheduled gatherings,” said Lovell. “But that advice has only been given to us verbally. I would like to see it in writing before it is enforced. I’m waiting a letter from them.”
Lovell sought DCA comment because the agency oversees enforcement of the state’s building codes.
“It is a gray area,” said Lovell. “Verbally, the DCA said a minyan constitutes an assembly use because it is a regularly scheduled gathering. Being regularly scheduled is one of the criteria to determine whether something is an assembly use.”
Lovell said he was concerned that the side yard of the West Hanover property had been plowed following the Dec. 9 snowfall and that some sort of event had been held over that weekend.
“We want to exercise this situation with care and understanding,” said Lovell. “Both sides have to be considered.”
Neither Bechor nor his regular attorney, Jack Dashos, returned several phone calls for comment.
Court Administrator Patricia Lobur also said summonses issued against the Chabad center are scheduled to be heard in municipal court on Wednesday, Jan. 4.
©Recorder Newspapers 2005
Too Costly
RANDOLPH TWP. – Chabad of Randolph will no longer use a house on West Hanover Avenue for religious functions because of the high cost of complying with state and local laws, officials said.
Advertisement
The township received complaints in the early fall from neighbors of the Chabad house regarding parking, traffic and the lack of pedestrian safety.
Authorities subsequently issued notices of building, fire and health and zoning violations on the home of Rabbi Avraham Bechor at 48 West Hanover Ave. Authorities said the residence was not approved as a place of assembly and a religious school for children.
Chabad is the outreach for the orthodox Lubavitch sect of Judiasm. The Chabad center offers various programs for all levels of the Jewish community. The center was at a home in Ironia before it transferred to the single-family home on West Hanover Avenue this summer.
Officials had originally delayed issuing citations to avoid disrupting the congregation’s celebration of the High Holy days in November.
An agreement between Bechor and officials was reached allowing the rabbi to continue holding small Saturday gatherings of 10 to 13 people. Two children’s religious classes were moved to the Mount Freedom Center. Small prayer groups of five or six people were also allowed, as well as private counseling sessions between the rabbi and a congregant.
The agreement stipulated that further action would be deferred if Bechor applied for variances to the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
Howard Speer, a land use attorney for Bechor, said on Dec. 5 that his client had decided not to pursue the matter.
“Because of expenses that might be involved, he will be using the property only as a single family residence,” said Speer.
Township Manager John Lovell said Bechor has notified Municipal Court Judge Ira Cohen that the group does not intend to seek the required variances, citing “economic hardship.”
“There are significant costs involved if they want to use the property as a place of assembly,” said Lovell. “To apply to the Board of Adjustment they would need an engineering design for the site plan and incur legal fees. An environmental impact study would be needed because of wetlands on the property. Once they got over that hurdle, the building itself remains a problem.”
Lovell said structural changes would be required to provide handicap access, and state fire safety codes are more stringent requirements for places of assembly than for private residences. Probably the most expensive requirement would be installation of “fire walls” to separate the residence from the assembly hall.
Lovell said the Chabad center also would have to receive approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection because the only available parking area would have infringed on a wetlands buffer area.
The house had originally been built as a single-family home and does not have adequate parking for congregants. Additionally, the septic system was not designed to accommodate places of assembly, officials said.
Even as a single-family residence, Lovell said Bechor could still hold private counseling sessions with one or two congregants, but even the holding of a “minyan” is now in question. A minyan is the Jewish term for the minimum of 10 males required to hold a religious service.
“We’ve been told by the state Department of Community Affairs (DCA) that minyanswould not be allowed because they are regularly scheduled gatherings,” said Lovell. “But that advice has only been given to us verbally. I would like to see it in writing before it is enforced. I’m waiting a letter from them.”
Lovell sought DCA comment because the agency oversees enforcement of the state’s building codes.
“It is a gray area,” said Lovell. “Verbally, the DCA said a minyan constitutes an assembly use because it is a regularly scheduled gathering. Being regularly scheduled is one of the criteria to determine whether something is an assembly use.”
Lovell said he was concerned that the side yard of the West Hanover property had been plowed following the Dec. 9 snowfall and that some sort of event had been held over that weekend.
“We want to exercise this situation with care and understanding,” said Lovell. “Both sides have to be considered.”
Neither Bechor nor his regular attorney, Jack Dashos, returned several phone calls for comment.
Court Administrator Patricia Lobur also said summonses issued against the Chabad center are scheduled to be heard in municipal court on Wednesday, Jan. 4.
©Recorder Newspapers 2005
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