Date: Fri 29-Jan-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Synagogue-Huntingtown

Full Text:

Synagogue Plan For Huntingtown Draws Supporters And Foes

(with graphic)

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members are considering Congregation

Adath Israel's application to construct a new synagogue on Huntingtown Road --

a proposed building which some nearby residents claim is too large for its

surroundings and would adversely affect the character of the neighborhood.

P&Z members aired the application at a well-attended January 21 public hearing

which drew supporters and opponents of the plan.

The congregation has a lawsuit pending against the P&Z over its October

rejection of the initial version of the application, a plan which is

essentially the same construction proposal as the one now pending. P&Z members

rejected the earlier application, in part, due to the proposed building's

size.

The congregation wants to build a 13,220-square-foot building to house a

synagogue and religious school on a two-acre parcel on the east side of

Huntingtown Road about 2,000 feet south of Meadow Brook Road. The site is just

south of the congregation's existing synagogue. The proposed building would be

constructed on a slope, with a single story facing Huntingtown Road and a

double-story section at the rear. The existing synagogue would become a

library.

Engineer Larry Edwards, representing the congregation, said the revised plans

call for additional landscaping in front of the building. The added

landscaping means the loss of four proposed parking spaces, reducing the

number of spaces to 39. Adding landscaping would make the view of the building

from the street more palatable, Mr Edwards said.

Henry Danziger, president of the synagogue, said, "We want to blend into the

neighborhood as best as humanly possible."

"We've been in this (Huntingtown) location for 70 years," he said, and he

noted that the congregation acquired the land on which it wants to build a new

synagogue in 1958. Jewish farmers have lived in the Huntingtown Road area for

the past 90 years, according to Dr Danziger.

"We (congregation) have been there for 70 years and have been good neighbors,"

he said.

The congregation barely has room for the 130 people who now attend religious

services at the existing synagogue during holiday services, he said. The

proposed building would have space in its sanctuary for 150 people, Dr

Danziger said. "We really tried hard to make it look like it fits in."

"It took us 15 years of talking about it until we got to this point. We tried

to keep it as reasonable as we could. I don't think we should relocate to

another part of town," he said, noting that the heaviest concentration of

Jewish people in Newtown probably is in the Huntingtown area.

The proposed synagogue has a New England architectural style, Dr Danziger

said. "Anything less [in size] really wouldn't meet our needs." The

congregation had set out to make the building one-third smaller than now

proposed, but such a structure would not be large enough to meet its needs, he

said.

Newtown's population will continue to expand and the congregation needs room

to grow, he said.

In a traffic report prepared for the congregation, traffic engineer Irving

Chann found that existing roads in the area can satisfactorily accommodate

anticipated traffic flow in terms of volume and safety. The presence of new

facilities would have no adverse effect on any nearby roadways, according to

Mr Chann.

Opponents

In a January 19 letter to the P&Z, Vikki Weiss of 108 Huntingtown Road, a

member of the congregation who lives near the site, writes "Henry Danziger may

say the synagogue is not being built for enticing more congregants but I know

otherwise. Why then do they need such a enormous building? I do not want more

traffic. Besides the problem of traffic, the plans for the synagogue are way

too gigantic. It does not fit into our rural landscape. A building that they

want should be built more on a main road. When you make your decision, please

think about the people who have been living nearby and not the pressure of the

lawsuit that the synagogue has put on you."

Resident Brian Williams of 100 Huntingtown Road said "This will constitute a

very large building... This will stand out in the neighborhood. It's the size

of a warehouse." The proposed building does not have a New England

architectural quality, he said, adding the structure would be too big for the

lot and too big for the neighborhood.

"This will literally destroy the neighborhood in terms of its look," Mr

Williams said.

Resident Keith Kling of 101 Huntingtown Road said he moved from southwestern

Connecticut to Newtown for its country atmosphere. "I'm against it," he said

of the proposed synagogue.

Resident John Vollmer of 103 Huntingtown Road said, "This is a residential

area. I don't want to see that monstrosity go up there."

Resident Donald Beck of 99 Huntingtown Road said the congregation has a right

to have a temple. "The proposal you've made is too big for our neighborhood,"

he said, adding that if the congregation needs a synagogue that large, that

site is not the place to build it. "I have great reservations with regard to

the building," he said.

Resident Thomas Doherty of 108 Huntingtown Road said Huntingtown Road is a

narrow road which has experienced increasing traffic flow. "If you've outgrown

your `house,' then it's time to move," he said, terming the proposed building

"huge."

Supporters

Resident Kim Danziger of 5 Stonewall Ridge Road, a congregation member, said

if the congregation were to seek another piece of land for construction, it

would find itself in another residential neighborhood. "This our neighborhood

already, and we just would like to stay there," he said. He asked P&Z members

to approve the application.

Rev Steve Gordon, pastor of Newtown Congregational Church, said, "I think It's

very important that we give support to diversity in our community." Many

Jewish farmers settled in Huntingtown, he noted. Residents living near the

Congregational Church on West Street do not seem offended by its presence in

their neighborhood, he said. Of the proposed synagogue, Rev Gordon said, "This

can be a beautiful building in the center of an historic area of our

community."

Rabbi Moshe Beton of Congregation Adath Israel said the Huntingtown area has

great sentimental value for congregation members. Current quarters result in

overcrowding in the synagogue's school, he said. More room is needed, but some

other location for the synagogue isn't the answer, he said.

Resident Robert Guiterman of Sandy Hook, a congregation member, said, "The

land is part of the history of the synagogue."

Resident Sybil Blau of 22 Schoolhouse Hill Road, a congregation member, said,

"We desperately need space." The existing building is inadequate for current

needs, she said.

Congregation member Susan Gillis of 30 Jeremiah Road said, "We have no desire

to put in a `big city' temple. This is one building that will do very little

to change Newtown," she said, adding that the presence of a new synagogue

would have a positive effect on the community.

Congregation member George Silver said a new synagogue would allow the

congregation to provide community services such as sponsoring Boy Scout and

Girl Scout troops. The presence of a new religious building would increase

nearby property values, he said.

Attorney Bill Denlinger, representing the congregation, told P&Z members the

synagogue application meets the criteria required to obtain a special

exception to the zoning regulations.

P&Z action on the application is expected at an upcoming session.

Pending Lawsuit

In a lawsuit filed in November in Danbury Superior Court, Mr Denlinger, states

that in rejecting the synagogue application the P&Z acted illegally,

arbitrarily and in abuse of the discretion vested in it because it exceeded

its legal powers in denying the application; it failed to have the public

hearing recorded by a stenographer or tape recorder; and it denied the

congregation a reasonable use of its property.

Through the lawsuit, the congregation seeks to have the P&Z's rejection of the

synagogue application declared void, and have the P&Z ordered to approve the

application for a special exception to the zoning regulations for a synagogue

and religious school.

In a 3-to-2 decision October 15, P&Z members voted against the proposal to

build the synagogue. The P&Z turned down the proposal "without prejudice,"

meaning the congregation could submit another proposal as soon as it wants and

not have to undergo a typical waiting period to do so.

In giving reasons for the application's October rejection, P&Z members said

the building's design would not be in harmony with the neighborhood, home

values would be adversely affected, and there would be only 26 feet of space

between the synagogue and the congregation's property side lines. In the

October vote to disapprove, three of the five voting P&Z members decided the

application does not meet a special exception criterion which requires a

proposed building to harmonize with the character of a neighborhood in terms

of building size.