Judge Rejects Attempt to Bar Temple From Leasing Pierce College Land

Woodland Hills residents trying to block use of surplus Pierce College land for a Jewish temple received a setback Wednesday when a judge ruled that lease of the property does not violate laws requiring separation of church and state.

Leaders of the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization had contended that the 75-year rental agreement for the 17 1/2-acre Victory Boulevard site constitutes “a virtual partnership” between the Los Angeles Community College District and Temple Shir Chadash.

But Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David P. Yaffe dismissed a lawsuit filed by the homeowner group, saying he “does not find any constitutional offense committed by the school district.”

Elated Jewish leaders said the ruling removes a cloud that has hung over their development plans for nearly a year and has delayed permission from Los Angeles to build the temple on a 5 1/2-acre corner of the site.

Single-Family Homes

Single-family houses are planned for the other 12 acres. They will be marketed as a fund-raising venture for the 400-member Reform congregation.

“We can move away from this and build our temple,” said Anita Green, president of the Encino-based congregation. “It’s very obvious this was a frivolous lawsuit by the homeowners’ group. But it’s also very obvious they don’t want the temple and that hurts a lot. They don’t want the temple built, that’s clear.”

Shir Chadash Rabbi Steven Jacobs blamed the dispute on overdevelopment of Los Angeles in general--and of the San Fernando Valley in particular.

“People in the Valley had a very different community 20 years ago; they want open space,” Jacobs said after Wednesday’s court hearing. Jacobs said he does not believe that anti-Semitism is an issue in the dispute. “There are some people who wouldn’t want a church there, either,” he said.

Leaders of the 600-household Woodland Hills group said their dispute is with the college district, not the temple. They said they probably will appeal Yaffe’s ruling.

“In superior courts, where judges face reelection every four years, constitutional issues are rarely addressed,” said Rosemary Woodlock, an attorney and president of the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization.

The homeowner group has been chafing over the disposal of the surplus land since college trustees voted to lease the site for $3 million and Shir Chadash officials announced their hope to sublease most of the land to a private builder.

Retirement Development

The temple’s first plan was for a 12-acre commercial retirement development on the southern portion of the site. When City Councilwoman Joy Picus joined residents in protesting that idea, the temple agreed to substitute single-family homes for the retirement units.

Leaders of the homeowner organization said they filed suit when the college district and Shir Chadash rejected their recommendation that the temple be allowed to buy the needed 5 1/2 acres for $1.9 million, with the remaining 12 acres reverting to the district as open space.

Antonio Cosby-Rossmann, attorney for the homeowners, told Yaffe that “the reason the Homeowners Organization made the very difficult decision” to sue was because “the congregation is using a public resource” both to build upon and to sublease to raise $600,000 to build the new temple.

“An unconstitutional preference has been shown to a religious organization,” Cosby-Rossman said.

He asserted that college district officials met privately with temple leaders to draw up conditions for the lease before announcing the availability of the land publicly. As a result, he said, the temple’s bid was the only one received by the district.