Residents Seek to Block School Expansion

A group of West Los Angeles neighbors wants to block a planned expansion of the Yeshiva of Los Angeles, arguing that the school is already bringing down property values in their quiet community with excessive traffic, noise and parking problems.

More than 60 neighbors met with City Councilman Mike Feuer Monday night to voice their objections to the proposed 60,000-foot extension of the Yeshiva at 9760 W. Pico Blvd., an addition they said would tower over the single-story residential neighborhood.

After listening to residents at Monday’s hearing, Feuer does not support the school’s plan, a spokeswoman said.

“The proposed project does not address the existing issues or ones that could arise from a new addition,” said Jane Blumenfeld, Feuer’s chief of staff.

Feuer will voice his concerns about the expansion at a Thursday hearing before the city zoning administrator, where residents said they will urge the city planning department to reject the school’s request for a conditional use permit.

“What they’re applying for is to erect a monolithic structure on a postage-stamp-size property,” said Susan Gans, who lives across the street from the school.

Neighbors said that many of the 180 high school and university students overcrowd the side streets with parked cars, litter the neighborhood and create a traffic hazard as they zoom around the narrow residential roads.

“Our neighborhood is under siege,” said resident Daniel Fink. “They congregate and walk down the streets to hide from the rabbis to smoke or eat non-kosher food. They sit on my front porch and leave litter behind them.”

Residents complained that the current problems would be exacerbated by the proposed addition of a three-story, 45-foot-high building with reduced yards and a quarter of the parking required under zoning ordinances.

Yeshiva administrators said the new facility would provide more room for students and their vehicles.

“The concerns of the neighbors are based on misconceptions and misinformation,” said Rabbi Sholom Tendler, director of academic programs. “We’re not talking about expanding the size of school or the student population. We have a totally inadequate facility now. This is an expansion of facilities to better accommodate the students.”

Tendler said the Yeshiva instituted a closed campus policy two years ago in response to neighbors’ concerns, prohibiting students from leaving the school during class hours.

Residents said the Yeshiva should not be allowed to expand because the school is already in violation of a conditional use permit granted in 1987.

Tendler denied that the school is violating zoning ordinances.

“I really hope that once the facility is built and they see that it is a positive thing for the community, we can improve relations,” he said.