Residents Fear Monks Would Be Too Noisy

Apparently the City Council was swayed by residents’ concerns that a Buddhist meditation center might bring noise and traffic. It agreed to reconsider a Planning Commission decision permitting a group of monks to build a monastery in Yorba Linda at its meeting tonight.

Georgia Campbell, who lives on a hilltop above the site of the proposed religious complex, is one of the concerned residents who fear that the center, the largest Buddhist meditation complex ever proposed in Orange County, will draw noisy crowds. “It is all those cars coming and going that concerns me,” Campbell said.

Representatives of the Myanmar Buddhist Society of America have tried to allay residents’ concerns by pointing out that Buddhist law strictly prohibits loud noise at monasteries.

The debate over noise is the latest controversy over the proposed religious complex that has pitted the residents against the monks for more than a year.

In that time, the Myanmar Buddhist Society of America has made several changes to its plans to get permission to build the center.

A large pagoda adorned with gold leaf was dropped from the plan, the colors of the buildings were changed to match the earth tones of homes in the neighborhood, and most of the Asian architectural touches were taken out.

The council meets tonight at 6:30 at City Hall, 4845 Casa Loma Ave. Information: (714) 961-7100.