Commissioners’ Vote Seen Ending Bitter Battle : Georgia County OKs Its First Synagogue

In a victory for area religious leaders, commissioners in suburban Gwinnett County voted unanimously Tuesday night to allow construction of the jurisdiction’s first synagogue.

The 5-0 vote ostensibly ended a bitter battle over the synagogue and came amid continuing objections from some residents who had complained that approving the construction plans, which required waiving zoning laws, would lower their property values.

However, the county commission rejected such concerns, opening the way for construction of Temple Beth David on a tree-filled lot in fast-growing Gwinnett County, about 25 miles northeast of Atlanta.

“It’s a done deal,” said David Hirt, county public information officer, after the vote. “They have the OK, so it’s up to them to develop” plans for the synagogue. Construction is expected to begin by this fall.

The debate over plans to build the synagogue had led to charges of anti-Semitism, focusing nationwide attention on the county and illustrating the strains that often accompany extraordinarily rapid growth such as that experienced in Gwinnett. The county had for years languished as a mostly white Christian community but attracted a more diverse population as it shared in the Sun Belt boom of recent years.

Dissent Seen as Smoke Screen

While opponents of the synagogue insisted that they objected to it because it would be modular instead of brick, because its lot would be too small and because it would have too few parking spaces, many supporters asserted that the objections were a smoke screen for anti-Jewish feelings.

The situation was aggravated last weekend when the Ku Klux Klan began leaving leaflets on yards of homes near the site of the proposed synagogue.

Appalled and embarrassed at the debate and the negative attention it received, many local Christian leaders came out in support of Temple Beth David.

In this climate, said one county official, the commission could not afford to turn down the synagogue request. “I don’t think they (had) any choice,” the official said.

While some in the region fear that vandalism may be directed against the synagogue--swastikas twice defaced a sign marking the site--Tuesday night was a time for celebration for many Jews.

One county resident who currently must travel many miles to attend a synagogue was heard saying after the vote: “Now I don’t have to drive so far.”