It has recently come to my attention that there is an issue with a proposed temple to be built at 410 clair road east. I have read what I can on line about this temple since I found out about it on Friday last week. Firstly I would like to say that I am not concerned with any of the racial or religious issues surrounding this site. In theory I would not have an issue with a temple or church or any other religious building being on that site.
I am however quite concerned with the impact that it could have with the appearance and traffic within our subdivision. I have seen a flyer that has been circulating that says that the building is meant to hold over 2000 people yet there will only be parking for 200? Could this be true? If this is correct it would mean that every time there is a religious ceramony our subdivision would need to accomodate parking for an extra 1800 people. Could you please direct me to where I can get some accurate information about the number of people this building is meant to hold?
I have seen that other people have expressed my concerns about the size and appearance of such a building and weather it fits into the subdivision. I agree with these concerns and feel the same way. There are 2 more points that I would like to add to this discussion.
1. Please consider that a religious building should not be subject to the same design criteria as any normal commercial development in regards to parking spots. While a grocery store may be able to hold 2000 people at once and only require say 500 spots it works because not everyone goes and buys groceries at the same time every day. Religious ceramonies are held at a specific time and it would be reasonable to assume that if the building is designed to hold 2000 members all 2000 members will be showing up at one time.
2. Our subdivision is a modern subdivision. The frontages on the homes are not very large any more. Most of the people on my street can’t even park a car in front of their own homes. Street parking can be a problem for the actual residents of the subdivision and will be greatly complicated by adding additional people that need to park there. ET