Tent to Go Up in Synagogue's Lot for 3 More Events

Problems for Kehilla Synagogue began last April. Wintertime rain seeped into the lower level and buckled the floor of the social hall. As contractors began removing the destroyed floor, they realized that the synagogue had a serious asbestos problem.

While the work continues, Kehilla has been forced to erect a tent in its parking lot whenever the weddings and bar and bat mitzvahs that had been previously slated to be held in the social hall are going on.

Though they said nothing about it at first, residents in the neigborhood of the synagogue located at 1300 Grand Avenue have now grown annoyed. Since the tent takes up all 17 spaces in Kehilla’s parking lot, cars belonging to people visiting the synagogue for big events spill over onto the surrounding streets. The city has begun getting complaints of congestion.

“The problems haven’t yet been solved,” said Piedmont City Planner Kate Black as she informed the council Monday about the asbestos abatement and floor reconstruction at the synagogue.

However, she said, Kehilla has been diligent in providing updates to both its neighbors and the city. Additionally, it has stopped booking further events for which the tent would be needed and is encouraging congregants to take public transportation or carpool to reduce congestion in the neighborhood.

Nonetheless, Black explained that the tent is a violation of the conditional use permit, which only allows Kehilla to use its parking lot for parking and preschool drop-offs.

“It is not possible for anyone to hate the tent more than we do,” said Sandy Bredt, Kehilla’s executive director, during Monday’s city council meeting. “It’s a royal pain. We recognize that it’s an impact in the neighborhood and we apologize for that.”

Bredt said the tent was supposed to have been gone by now. In June, Kehilla staff notified the city that construction would be done by mid-August. However, the completion has now been pushed back to an unforeseen date as more and more complications have arisen.

During the council’s discussion on the topic, Councilwoman Margaret Fujioka asked Bredt to provide the council with monthly reports on the status of construction. Mayor Dean Barbieri said that as long as the tent is only used on those three occasions, Kehilla should be allowed to host the remaining bar and bat mitzvahs on its calendar. The rest of the council agreed.

“We were gratified and grateful,” Bredt said after the meeting, “and we will try to do anything we can to minimize the impact on the neighborhood.”