Buddhist Gatherings On Boggs Hill Create Traffic And Complaints

By Andrew Gorosko

About 18 months ago, Gloria Lovecchio saw a large golden religious figure roll by on Boggs Hill Road and realized that something was changing in the neighborhood.

“One day, I saw a statue of a Buddha on a flatbed truck. That’s when I got my first clue,” said Ms Lovecchio of 142 Boggs Hill Road, who noted that the truck hauling the smiling figure in the lotus position pulled into 145 Boggs Hill Road.

In the spring of 1999, the Cambodian Buddhist Society of Connecticut purchased that nine-acre Boggs Hill Road property from the Daly family for $470,000. The site formerly was a horse farm.

 Neighboring property owners seemed accepting of the several Buddhist monks who had moved into a large house on the property and were using it as a monastery. But those neighbors later grew upset when the property became the site of weekend Buddhist religious gatherings, and occasional large special events, which attracted many people and much traffic into what is normally a quiet neighborhood. Boggs Hill Road is a long residential connector street that links Sugar Street to Hattertown Road.

Resident Lisa Hintzen of 156 Boggs Hill Road said Tuesday a group of nearby property owners are “up in arms” over the presence of what became a Buddhist temple.

Ms Hintzen acknowledges the Buddhists have made improvements to the property. She stressed, however, the Buddhist society will encounter neighborhood opposition when it seeks a required special permit from the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) for religious gatherings at the property.

“We’re going to fight them,” Ms Hintzen said. Past religious gatherings at the Buddhist monastery were frequent and noisy, attracting hundreds of people to what is otherwise a quiet neighborhood, she said. A public address system was used, creating a noise problem, she said. “It’s loud [with] heavy traffic,” she said.

“They’re wonderful people. They are very gentle,” she said, adding that the worshippers she has encountered are very friendly. “They’re lovely people,” she said.

But, she added, the gatherings create noise and traffic problems in the Boggs Hill Road neighborhood. Worshippers come from across the state and often get lost trying to find the property, posing traffic problems, Ms Hintzen said. “This is ridiculous… This is a residential zone,” she said.

 Ms Hintzen lives across the street from the Buddhist monastery. She said she fears the presence of a religious facility with large gatherings of people will damage her property’s value.

“We are not opposed to them living there. We are opposed to the temple,” Ms Hintzen said.

Ms Hintzen said that she and her husband, William, had bought their house due to the beauty and peacefulness of the area, but the many outdoor gatherings have been intrusive.

 At a large gathering in October, a public address system blared, gongs sounded, and a procession was conducted, Ms Hintzen said. “It was a very noisy day,” she said.

At the request of a neighbor, town police visited the Buddhist property on Sunday, October 15, at 1 pm and took a series of photographs documenting a large gathering of people there. Police reported they saw approximately 100 people at the property.

Ms Hintzen said that the Buddhists apparently realize that their gatherings have been annoying to their neighbors and on one occasion placed leaflets under windshield wiper blades in the neighborhood explaining that the Boggs Hill Road property is the only Cambodian Buddhist religious center in the state.

Resident Mona Wood, who lives at 147 Boggs Hill Road, next door to the Buddhist property, said that although the Buddhist society may have purchased the large house on the property as a residence, it has become much more than that. The site has generated much noise, much traffic, and crowds of people at gatherings, she said. Ms Wood said one event attracted 200 people.

Ms Wood said the Buddhist monks have been quiet, excellent neighbors during the week, but it had become quite noisy at weekend events.

Ms Wood said she and her husband, Howard, had bought their property on Boggs Hill Road for the area’s peace and quiet.

“It’s not even about religion,” she said.

Gatherings Stopped

Based on complaints from neighbors, Zoning Enforcement Officer Gary Frenette, in an October 6 letter to the Buddhist society, wrote, in part, “Places of religious worship are permitted as principal uses [of a property] subject to the granting of a special exception by the Planning and Zoning Commission in accordance with the standards, criteria, conditions, and procedures which are set forth” in the zoning regulations. “…Unless your organization receives special exception approval, religious services, etc, are not permitted without the approval of the Planning and Zoning Commission. If the religious services are still conducted, I will refer this matter to the town attorney for legal action.”

In a similar letter hand-delivered to the Buddhist society almost 17 months earlier, dated May 13, 1999, Mr Frenette had informed the society that religious services and gatherings would be in violation of the zoning regulations until the society received a special exception to the zoning regulations from the P&Z.

Pong Me of Bristol, president of the Buddhist society, said that after a survey of the property is completed, the society will seek a special exception for religious services at the property.

The society formerly had a house in Danbury, but moved from it because it had become too small for the society’s needs, he said. The 400-member society was founded in 1987.

“I want to be a good neighbor. I want to be a good friend. I want to do everything legally. I don’t want any trouble,” said Mr Me, who is a computer operator for Otis Company.

Attorney Joy Previdi, representing the society, said, “They [Buddhists] would like to be good neighbors. Their intent is they would like to be good neighbors.”

Mr Frenette said the Buddhists have complied with his letter and have ended their religious events. Also, at his request, they took down a sign that had been erected welcoming visitors to a Buddhist temple on the property, he said.

“They’re [Buddhists] cooperative and they want to come in and [seek] a special exception… and become a legitimate house of worship,” Mr Frenette said.

Special exception applications are aired at public hearings. Such applications are subject to many regulations.

“Anything to do with religion is a very sensitive issue,” Mr Frenette said.

Houses of worship are subject to “reasonable regulation” by the P&Z, without violating the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion, according to P&Z attorney Robert Fuller.

 

Neighbors

Resident Brigette Sorensen of 160 Boggs Hill Road said the large amount of traffic generated by gatherings at the Buddhist property has been annoying. Motorists, having become lost, turned around on her property, she said. Ms Sorensen said that she and her husband, Herlof, bought property in a residential area, but have encountered large noisy gatherings of people.

Ms Lovecchio said, “I really don’t have any objection to it if it’s a Buddhist monastery.”

Ms Lovecchio added, however, that she does object to the presence of a temple attracting crowds of people. A temple would draw an inordinate amount of traffic and pose environmental issues, she said.

Resident Kenneth Frederickson of 151 Boggs Hill Road, who has lived at that address for 42 years,  lives across a pond from the Buddhist property.

Mr Frederickson said the Buddhist monks have been good neighbors. They are “probably the best neighbors I’ve had in 42 years. They are nice people,” he said.

The Buddhists have kept the premises in good shape, making repairs to the property, he said.

Several times they have hosted very large gatherings, he said.

The traffic in the area generated by the gatherings, and the safety of local children in light of that traffic, are issues which need to be addressed, he said.

Mr Frederickson said he expects that at some point the Buddhists received some bad advice and conducted major religious events at the property without having the town’s permission.

“It gets a little noisy,” Mr Frederickson said, noting that residents who work all week long expect to have quiet weekends at home.

If the Buddhists can “reach a happy medium” with the town, things may work out nicely, he said.

“They’re good people,” he said of the Buddhists. If neighboring property owners can stay cool, some agreement can be worked out, he said.

Mr Frederickson said he does not oppose the Buddhists conducting religious events on the property, but believes the P&Z should regulate the activities.