[Peace-discuss] Hindu Temple zoning hearing *tonight*, Thu 5/31, 7pm

[Stuart Levy]

Hello all,

Sorry for the late notice, but if you're interested in
seeing what's likely to be the final zoning hearing for the
Hindu Temple, it's tonight:
   May 31, 2007, 7:00 pm
   Lyle Shields Meeting Room
   Brookens Admin. Center
   1776 E Washington St
   (Washington & Lierman in Urbana;
    only the north doors are open at that hour,
    so park in the lot off Lierman, not the one on Washington)

Though there are at least a couple hundred Hindu families in C-U,
it's at least 90 minutes' drive each way to the nearest temple.
So the need is real.

Agenda is the 5/31/07 entry on the Champaign County Zoning Board of Appeals page:
    http://www.co.champaign.il.us/COUNTYBD/zbaagenda.htm#zba

The applicants, who are trying to build a Hindu temple in a corner of a piece
of agricultural land a couple miles north of Champaign are facing strong and,
it looks to me, ill-founded opposition from their neighbors,
who live in a recently-built subdivision a couple miles north of Champaign.

Moral support is welcome.

The previous meeting on 4/26/07 was well-attended on both sides.
Here's a summary:

 4/26 county zoning board hearing on the Hindu Temple project:
 Nearest existing Temple is in Peoria, so the local Hindu community
 would like one here.  They own a strip of agricultural land
 in Hensley Twp, near Mattis Ave & ~3 mi N of I-74, near a 7-year-old housing
 tract.  Proposal is to put the Temple, parking lot, etc. on 5 of their
 40 acres, leaving the rest in agricultural use.

 The neighbors object -- complaining of risk to drainage from their lawns,
 worries about traffic, "change in the character of the neighborhood", etc.
 Encouragingly, the county's State's Atty gave an opinion limiting reasons
 the Zoning Board could use for denial: the Temple people needn't show
 that this is the *only* feasible site in C-U area; site appearance can't
 be a criterion; nor may the land's "best prime farmland" status be used
 as a basis to deny, given the type of change being requested (not rezoning,
 but "special use" of a type permitted for ag. land).  But injury to
 public safety/health/morals/general welfare may still be argued.
 One (final?) hearing is planned for 5/31.

  - Stuart