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Rabbi Boruch Cohen in front of his Birmingham home, which congregants
had hoped could be the site for a new facility. City officials disagreed.
Respectfully Declined
Birmingham-Bloomfield Chai Center
denied special land use permit for
synagogue in residential area.
IN STATE ONLY.
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on the Boardwalk • West Bloomfield
24
September 29 • 2011
iN
A
fter four years of searching
for commercial property to
house congregants of the
Birmingham-Bloomfield Chai Center,
Rabbi Boruch Cohen thought vacating
his home and converting it into a syn-
agogue could be the perfect solution.
However, the Birmingham Planning
Board had different ideas and denied
his organization's request in a unani-
mous vote at a Sept. 14 meeting.
The property, which congregants
had planned to renovate, is in a resi-
dential area where the zoning includes
an allowance for religious facilities
that have acquired a special land use
permit.
Relying on the ordinance to obtain
permitting, the center submitted plans
designed by Birmingham architect
Irving Tobocman that include a dining
area and sanctuary that would each fit
126 people, and a parking lot for 21 cars.
Dozens of area residents attended
the meeting to oppose the request.
Many — both Jewish and not Jewish
— presented letters or spoke at the
meeting, opposing the plans. They
expressed concern for affected prop-
erty values, setting a precedent, and
safety for their children in terms of
both added traffic and having large
groups of strangers in the neighbor-
hood. The letters did not include anti-
religious or anti-Semitic references.
"They had a strong coalition, a
neighborhood association soliciting
letters and petition signatures and
people prepared to speak," Cohen said.
"The meeting was not even a contest;
it was like a forfeit. We were not pre-
pared for a hearing in that sense. We
thought we were just there to present
our plan!"
Nonetheless, he said supporters of
his synagogue spoke eloquently about
the shul and the role it plays in the
community.
"Everyone who spoke, for or against,
spoke calmly and respectfully," Cohen
said. "We were there to listen. We had
not wanted to create a controversial
project:"
On a conciliatory note, the rabbi
expressed his gratitude for the board's
professionalism. "The planning board
did a great job of handling a tough
meeting:" he said.
In addition to neighborhood con-
cerns, other issues discussed included
whether the parking lot plan offered
enough parking spaces for the antici-
pated use of the building and whether
it would be placed too close to the road.
A Look Ahead
The congregation, which does not have
a formal membership, has a reach of
about 200 people, Cohen said, many
who attend Shabbat morning and holi-
day services, classes and social pro-
grams. Services typically take place
in rented space at the Birmingham
Masonic Lodge in Bloomfield Hills.
In the search for a permanent facil-
ity, the rabbi also made clear that his
home is not a synagogue.
"I am a rabbi, my wife is a reb-
betzin, and our home is a parsonage