10-11-2008, 03:23 PM
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/l...ohindu1011.html
Neighbors' lawsuit blocks Hindu temple
Plans for shrine violate Chandler zoning rules
4 comments by Edythe Jensen - Oct. 11, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
It had been green-lighted by both the Chandler City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission, but a proposed Hindu temple didn't sit right with a small group of neighbors.
They took their fight to court - and won.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Glenn Davis ruled recently that 35-year-old "residential only" deed restrictions on the proposed temple site are valid.
The decision effectively blocks a 2007 city permit that would have allowed a brightly colored worship center with spirals on the southwestern corner of Dobson Road and Galveston Street.
"We did it! We did it!" said Scott Taylor.
Taylor had rallied his neighbors to file the lawsuit.
"We have no animosity toward them. We just don't think this is the right spot" for a temple, he said. "I felt we needed to protect our property rights, and we couldn't have done it if we hadn't banded together."
The Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council approved a use permit for the temple last year after officials noted the site is on a main road and across the street from a Mormon church.
But the neighbors argued that their side of Dobson Road is residential and a breach of historic deed restrictions could forever change the area's character.
The plaintiffs live on 1- to 2-acre lots; some have livestock. Public meetings on the permit drew crowds from both sides.
According to Maricopa County records, the temple site was purchased in 2004 by Venkatesh Bhat Karkala for $475,000. Karkala quitclaimed the property to the religious foundation in 2006.
Plans presented during city hearings indicated the foundation was going to demolish the existing house and build a 7,500-square-foot worship center that would include a prayer hall, kitchen, dining hall, classrooms and living quarters.
The one-story building was to have had several 40- to 42-foot towers, called garoopas.
There would have been daily morning and evening prayer gatherings, but large group events would have been held at other facilities, foundation representatives told city officials.
Project manager Raghu Nandan, a Chandler resident, said the non-profit Hindu group was surprised by the judge's decision and is discussing options that could include an appeal.
Laree Dudding lives next to the proposed temple site and said her late father, John Openshaw, wrote the deed restrictions in the early 1970s. In the 1930s, the Openshaw family farmed 60 acres that now include the few along Galveston Street, said Dudding, 73.
"The lot is not big enough for what they had planned," she said of the temple site.
Dudding said there have been weekend gatherings at the house for the past year and, at times, the site has been overgrown with weeds.
Nandan said these are informal visits and meetings, not scheduled prayer groups. He said the foundation hired a landscaper "who sometimes didn't show up."
Ernie Baird, attorney for the neighbors, said he will ask the judge to make the Hindu foundation pay the residents' $40,000 legal bill. Baird said he also will seek a court order prohibiting the foundation from using the existing home on the site for worship gatherings.
Troy Stratman, lawyer for the New Jersey-based Sujnana Religious and Charitable Foundation, which owns the property, said an appeal is possible and he will ask the judge to make the neighbors pay his clients' legal fees.
Chandler resident Ananth Rao is a volunteer for the project and had been looking forward to the temple's construction.
"It is very close to me and a place where my family could recite some prayers and do things in the evening. . . . Now it is a legal issue, and we have already spent money on architectural drawings," he said.
Reach the reporter at edythe.jensen@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-7939.
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* TruConservative
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My old C C and R's forbid selling to Hindus. Of course this is no longer valid.... or is it?
* santiago8
* Oct-11 @ 6:32 AM
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Go, neighbors!
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* TruConservative
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They also forbid selling to Mexicans...Santiago. Go Neighbors?
* AZadvocate1961
* Oct-11 @ 7:58 AM
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I have often questioned residences being converted into churches (places of worship) in residential neighborhoods. Seems in many cases (maybe not this one) that it is being done to avoid paying property taxes.
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Neighbors' lawsuit blocks Hindu temple
Plans for shrine violate Chandler zoning rules
4 comments by Edythe Jensen - Oct. 11, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
It had been green-lighted by both the Chandler City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission, but a proposed Hindu temple didn't sit right with a small group of neighbors.
They took their fight to court - and won.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Glenn Davis ruled recently that 35-year-old "residential only" deed restrictions on the proposed temple site are valid.
The decision effectively blocks a 2007 city permit that would have allowed a brightly colored worship center with spirals on the southwestern corner of Dobson Road and Galveston Street.
"We did it! We did it!" said Scott Taylor.
Taylor had rallied his neighbors to file the lawsuit.
"We have no animosity toward them. We just don't think this is the right spot" for a temple, he said. "I felt we needed to protect our property rights, and we couldn't have done it if we hadn't banded together."
The Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council approved a use permit for the temple last year after officials noted the site is on a main road and across the street from a Mormon church.
But the neighbors argued that their side of Dobson Road is residential and a breach of historic deed restrictions could forever change the area's character.
The plaintiffs live on 1- to 2-acre lots; some have livestock. Public meetings on the permit drew crowds from both sides.
According to Maricopa County records, the temple site was purchased in 2004 by Venkatesh Bhat Karkala for $475,000. Karkala quitclaimed the property to the religious foundation in 2006.
Plans presented during city hearings indicated the foundation was going to demolish the existing house and build a 7,500-square-foot worship center that would include a prayer hall, kitchen, dining hall, classrooms and living quarters.
The one-story building was to have had several 40- to 42-foot towers, called garoopas.
There would have been daily morning and evening prayer gatherings, but large group events would have been held at other facilities, foundation representatives told city officials.
Project manager Raghu Nandan, a Chandler resident, said the non-profit Hindu group was surprised by the judge's decision and is discussing options that could include an appeal.
Laree Dudding lives next to the proposed temple site and said her late father, John Openshaw, wrote the deed restrictions in the early 1970s. In the 1930s, the Openshaw family farmed 60 acres that now include the few along Galveston Street, said Dudding, 73.
"The lot is not big enough for what they had planned," she said of the temple site.
Dudding said there have been weekend gatherings at the house for the past year and, at times, the site has been overgrown with weeds.
Nandan said these are informal visits and meetings, not scheduled prayer groups. He said the foundation hired a landscaper "who sometimes didn't show up."
Ernie Baird, attorney for the neighbors, said he will ask the judge to make the Hindu foundation pay the residents' $40,000 legal bill. Baird said he also will seek a court order prohibiting the foundation from using the existing home on the site for worship gatherings.
Troy Stratman, lawyer for the New Jersey-based Sujnana Religious and Charitable Foundation, which owns the property, said an appeal is possible and he will ask the judge to make the neighbors pay his clients' legal fees.
Chandler resident Ananth Rao is a volunteer for the project and had been looking forward to the temple's construction.
"It is very close to me and a place where my family could recite some prayers and do things in the evening. . . . Now it is a legal issue, and we have already spent money on architectural drawings," he said.
Reach the reporter at edythe.jensen@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-7939.
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* Most Popular
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Post A Comment Add your comments
Make your voice heard
This is a public comment zone. Readers are solely responsible for the content of their posts and must comply with our Terms of Service and Rules of Engagement. Report offensive content by clicking on the "Report abuse" link.
View Profile View Blog
* TruConservative
* Oct-11 @ 4:04 AM
* Report abuse
*
0
[login to vote]
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My old C C and R's forbid selling to Hindus. Of course this is no longer valid.... or is it?
* santiago8
* Oct-11 @ 6:32 AM
* Report abuse
*
0
[login to vote]
*
1
[login to vote]
Go, neighbors!
View Profile View Blog
* TruConservative
* Oct-11 @ 7:57 AM
* Report abuse
*
0
[login to vote]
*
0
[login to vote]
They also forbid selling to Mexicans...Santiago. Go Neighbors?
* AZadvocate1961
* Oct-11 @ 7:58 AM
* Report abuse
*
0
[login to vote]
*
0
[login to vote]
I have often questioned residences being converted into churches (places of worship) in residential neighborhoods. Seems in many cases (maybe not this one) that it is being done to avoid paying property taxes.
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