By: Jon Campisi , Staff Writer
Religious leaders looking to build a synagogue on Fort Washington Avenue cleared their first hurdle Sept. 18, when the Upper Dublin Zoning Hearing Board unanimously voted to grant a special exception use.
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A special exception, which differs slightly from a variance, needs to be approved when seeking to build a religious institution in a residentially zoned district. The use is permitted by law, but an applicant still has to make his or her case before the plan can move forward.
This particular proposal drew the ire of some neighbors who voiced concerns about what they viewed as a potential detriment to the residential area brought on by an increase in traffic and more impervious surface coverage.
"As a homeowner, I'm opposed because I feel it's unsafe for my children," Fort Washington resident Chris Pastore said during a public hearing last month. "Every additional car [puts] my child's life more at risk. It truly and dramatically impacts on the health and welfare of myself and my children."
The property in question is 1311 Fort Washington Ave., directly across from the Church of the Open Door, and just down the street from the intersection of Fort Washington and Susquehanna Road.
The type of congregation set to move in is known as the Lubavitch movement, an offshoot of orthodox Judaism, the strictest sect in the faith. During last month's hearing, Rabbi Shalom Deitsch, the leader of what has been operating as a roving synagogue for some time, tried to calm neighbors' worries.
As for additional traffic, Deitsch assured residents the congregation is quite small and close-knit and has no definitive plans to increase in size. Besides, the synagogue has already been operating out of homes and a school on Fort Washington Avenue, and no significant problems have arisen thus far.
Regarding flooding concerns due to the additional impervious parking area, attorney Michael Yanoff has said that Upper Dublin has very stringent storm-water management requirements. Yanoff said when the plan goes before township commissioners during the land development stage, the developer will have to make sure it is in full compliance with township code.
"They [commissioners] take a very aggressive approach to all of these issues," Yanoff said last month.
During Monday's meeting, zoning hearing board members said they took neighbors' concerns into consideration when rendering a decision.
"We've looked at this issue in depth, we heard a lot of testimony," said zoning board member George Dempster. "In my view, I think the [applicant] met their burden. I would be in favor of granting a special exception."
Zoning board member Leonard Karp acknowledged that not everyone is going to be pleased whenever a controversial issue such as this arises, "we recognize that." But he also said the zoning board has a set of rules to play by, and it cannot work outside of those boundaries, such as not granting a special exception just because a plan may be disliked by some.
Zoning Hearing Board Chairman Rodney Whitmire agreed, but added that the quasi-legislative body always does everything in its power to ensure that a building is conducive to the locale in which it is proposed to be built.
"What we can do is try to maintain the integrity of the neighborhood," he added.
The zoning hearing board granted the special exception based on the following provisions: the synagogue must be limited to a 100-seat capacity, there will be no future expansion or accessory uses, the parking area will be designed with a one-way interior traffic flow, nearby homes will be properly shielded from onsite lighting and drainage onto Fort Washington Avenue will be properly addressed.
Religious leaders looking to build a synagogue on Fort Washington Avenue cleared their first hurdle Sept. 18, when the Upper Dublin Zoning Hearing Board unanimously voted to grant a special exception use.
Advertisement
A special exception, which differs slightly from a variance, needs to be approved when seeking to build a religious institution in a residentially zoned district. The use is permitted by law, but an applicant still has to make his or her case before the plan can move forward.
This particular proposal drew the ire of some neighbors who voiced concerns about what they viewed as a potential detriment to the residential area brought on by an increase in traffic and more impervious surface coverage.
"As a homeowner, I'm opposed because I feel it's unsafe for my children," Fort Washington resident Chris Pastore said during a public hearing last month. "Every additional car [puts] my child's life more at risk. It truly and dramatically impacts on the health and welfare of myself and my children."
The property in question is 1311 Fort Washington Ave., directly across from the Church of the Open Door, and just down the street from the intersection of Fort Washington and Susquehanna Road.
The type of congregation set to move in is known as the Lubavitch movement, an offshoot of orthodox Judaism, the strictest sect in the faith. During last month's hearing, Rabbi Shalom Deitsch, the leader of what has been operating as a roving synagogue for some time, tried to calm neighbors' worries.
As for additional traffic, Deitsch assured residents the congregation is quite small and close-knit and has no definitive plans to increase in size. Besides, the synagogue has already been operating out of homes and a school on Fort Washington Avenue, and no significant problems have arisen thus far.
Regarding flooding concerns due to the additional impervious parking area, attorney Michael Yanoff has said that Upper Dublin has very stringent storm-water management requirements. Yanoff said when the plan goes before township commissioners during the land development stage, the developer will have to make sure it is in full compliance with township code.
"They [commissioners] take a very aggressive approach to all of these issues," Yanoff said last month.
During Monday's meeting, zoning hearing board members said they took neighbors' concerns into consideration when rendering a decision.
"We've looked at this issue in depth, we heard a lot of testimony," said zoning board member George Dempster. "In my view, I think the [applicant] met their burden. I would be in favor of granting a special exception."
Zoning board member Leonard Karp acknowledged that not everyone is going to be pleased whenever a controversial issue such as this arises, "we recognize that." But he also said the zoning board has a set of rules to play by, and it cannot work outside of those boundaries, such as not granting a special exception just because a plan may be disliked by some.
Zoning Hearing Board Chairman Rodney Whitmire agreed, but added that the quasi-legislative body always does everything in its power to ensure that a building is conducive to the locale in which it is proposed to be built.
"What we can do is try to maintain the integrity of the neighborhood," he added.
The zoning hearing board granted the special exception based on the following provisions: the synagogue must be limited to a 100-seat capacity, there will be no future expansion or accessory uses, the parking area will be designed with a one-way interior traffic flow, nearby homes will be properly shielded from onsite lighting and drainage onto Fort Washington Avenue will be properly addressed.
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