CAMARILLO : Holiday May Delay Council Discussions

The Camarillo City Council may postpone discussion of two hotly contested land-use issues at its meeting tonight in response to a complaint that the council meeting is being held on the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur.

The council received a letter Tuesday from Barbara Bergen of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith asking the city to “postpone discussion of land-issues to a later date” so Jewish residents would be able to attend the meeting.

Assistant City Manager Larry Davis said the council “didn’t realize the meeting was on Yom Kippur” and would decide tonight whether to reschedule the two development issues.

The council is slated to decide on a Sammis Co. proposal to build a neighborhood shopping center, housing and a proposed school off Pleasant Valley Road, and on a tax-sharing incentive for the Koll Leonard Factory Outlet Center to build an outlet in Camarillo.

George Goldfarb, who leads services for Jewish residents of Leisure Village, said he was unhappy with the council for scheduling the meeting on Yom Kippur.

“Anyone who is Jewish will not attend the council meeting,” Goldfarb said.

Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, is a 24-hour fast that began Tuesday night and will end at dusk today. Even though the fast will be over, Goldfarb said those who observe Yom Kippur “will be meeting with family and attending a break-the-fast dinner. They’re not going to a meeting.”