In Brief: Planning Board Votes Down Plans for Synagogue

The Birmingham Planning Board voted down a request for a special land use permit Wednesday night from a group looking to renovate a home at the corner of Quarton Road and Lakeside Drive and turn it into a synagogue.

Rabbi Boruch Cohen, head of the , and his family currently reside in the home, which is located in an R1, or residential, neighborhood. However Cohen said after six years of searching for an appropriate place to build a synagogue, they thought offering up their property might be their best option.

The Birmingham-Bloomfield Chai Center’s plan calls for a renovation that would transform the home and create a large dining area and a sanctuary able to fit 126 people. Plans also call for a parking lot for 21 cars at the site. There will be no dwelling areas in the home after the renovation.

Churches and synagogues are permitted in the R1 zone with a special land use permit, which must ultimately be approved by the Birmingham City Commission. The planning board, however, typically hears these requests first and makes its own reccomendaton to the commission.

However, the Chai Center ran up against a mass of opposition at the meeting as dozens of residents showed up to voice their concerns on the project. Primarily, neighboring residents were worried about the added traffic and the impact the project would have on the value of their homes. Meanwhile, several other residents said they were worried about the precedent this kind of project — turning a residential home into a house of worship — might set for the city.

While the synagogue did have its supporters at the packed meeting, members of the planning board were not among them. While a synagogue in Birmingham is desirable, they said, that location just isn't right. In addition, the proposed plan for the new synagogue's parking lot violates two city ordinances since it doesn't provide enough parking for the building and would be situated too close to the road.

The five members of the Planning Board present Wednesday night — Scott Clein and Carroll DeWeese were absent — voted unanimously to turn down the special land use permit.

Now that the preliminary proposal has been denied, the Cohens and the Chai Center may bring their concerns to the Board of Zoning Appeals and request variances for parts of the plan that violate city ordinances — such as the parking lot. Concerning the special land use permit, they may also bypass the Planning Board's reccommendation altogether and ask the city commission for a permit directly.

However, if the project is to continue, this isn't the last the Chai Center has seen of the planning board; the board must also hear the group's final site plans. The group may submit new plans at any time.

Stay tuned for the full story on the Birmingham Patch.

Correction: Only five of the seven members of the Planning Board were present at Wednesday's meeting. An earlier version of this story reported that all seven members of the board were present for the vote.