NORWALK Planning Commissioner Honendal Resigns

A city planning commissioner who had vigorously opposed plans for a Hindu temple in his neighborhood resigned three days after the controversial project was approved by the City Council, officials said.

Jim Honendal, who had served on the commission for six months, offered no explanation for the action in his July 22 letter of resignation, city officials said.

Honendal had been a vocal critic of the proposed temple at Pioneer Boulevard and Fernia Street before becoming a planning commissioner earlier this year. When the issue was presented to the planning commission in June, Honendal made the unusual move of stepping down from the dais and joining more than a dozen residents to speak against the plan. Residents in the neighborhood said they feared traffic and parking problems if the temple was approved.

The commission approved the project. Honendal abstained from voting.

Councilwoman Eleanor Zimmerman will appoint a successor.