AGOURA : Expansion of Worship House Draws Protest

Residents of an Agoura neighborhood want to halt the expansion of a Jewish worship house, saying they fear it will drive down property values and alter the quaint nature of the neighborhood.

“It’s going to lower our property values in the long run,” said neighbor Arlene Fishstein. “It’s just an inappropriate spot for that type of thing.”

For about the last year, members of Chabad of the Conejo Valley, a conservative sect of Hasidic Jews, have used the 1,700-square-foot house on Conifer Street as a place to pray and conduct business.

They submitted plans March 23 for a 1,300-square-foot expansion that included a second story and a small parking lot in the back yard.

Those changes would have required a parking variance and zone change from the Ventura County Planning Department.

The Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council at first recommended the plan be approved, but reversed itself when neighbors protested.

Neighbors said they had been given the impression that the expansion was to be more limited than the submitted plans showed.

To appease neighbors and ensure approval, Chabad on Monday eliminated the parking lot from its plans and expanded the house by about the same 1,300 square feet, but built out instead of up, eliminating the second story, said Nancy Francis, manager of residential land use for the Planning Department.

The current plan no longer requires a variance or zone change, according to senior planner Ron Allen.

However, since neighbors complained, Chabad must now apply for a conditional-use permit to hold religious meetings in a residential area.

Neighbors say they still don’t approve.

“They lost any sort of goodwill they had by doing it on the sly,” said David Winstone, who lives across the street from the Chabad house. The group “said one thing, did another,” Winstone said.

Chabad Rabbi Moshe Bryski declined to comment, saying he wanted to let the issue die and to repair relations with neighbors.

Chabad member Ron Ressner said Bryski “didn’t really think it was going to be the issue it was,” and had no intention of trying to make changes behind residents’ backs.

Chabad is a conservative sect of Judaism that concentrates much of its energy on social and educational programs, as well as bringing non-practicing members of the faith back into the fold.

Some neighbors are worried that if Chabad makes its desired changes, the building could not be sold in the future as a home, and instead may become a commercial site.

“In the planning division, we’re concerned that it (the neighborhood) not lose its residential character,” Francis said. The latest proposal is undergoing a 30-day review by the Planning Department.