Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Supporting the Chai Center

Former Millburn resident urges Township to work with the Center to avoid possible appeals and federal legal claims.

Millburn Township will always be home to my family.  We moved to Florida in 1999 from Short Hills, but have kept in touch with many close friends and family in Millburn and Short Hills these past 13 years.  In 1994, I ran for Millburn Township Committee – as a Democrat.  (Running for Township Committee in 1994 as a Democrat truly reflects the love I had for the Township.)  I also had the pleasure of practicing law for several years at a firm in Short Hills. While living in first Millburn and then Short Hills, my family never missed a Forth of July celebration or Halloween parade. It is with profound sadness that I learned this morning (February 14th) that the Millburn Zoning Board denied the Chai Center’s application for a variance very …

•  4 Comments
• Photos (1)

Update: Zoning Board Denies Chai Center Variances

Rabbi and board plan to weigh their options and figure out what to do next.

After two years of hearings and almost 5½ hours of public input Monday night, the Zoning Board of Adjustment denied the variances sought by the Chai Center, which would have allowed a 16,350-square-foot synagogue in Short Hills.  Rabbi Mendel Bogomilsky said he and his attorneys would review their options, which range from looking for another lot to appealing the decision and continue fighting for the space they have now. “If this case goes to the Supreme Court, and it might, and it takes 10 years, the town won’t interfere with what we do now because they signed an agreement not to,” he said. “I don’t know what we’ll do, we’re keeping our options open, but we will continue operating as we are now.” That means, they will continue to hold …

•  63 Comments
• Photos (3)

Chai Center Hearing Location Moved to MHS

Monday's meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. at Millburn High School.

To accommodate the crowd expected at Monday’s Zoning Board of Adjustment hearing for the proposed Chai Center, the meeting has been moved to the auditorium of Millburn High School. The last meeting, which was held in the cafeteria of Hartshorn Elementary School, drew a large and impassioned crowd on both sides of the issue. The audience was split between supporters of the proposed synagogue known as the Chai Center for Living Judaism and some neighbors and other residents trying to keep the center from getting zoning variances to build a 16,350-foot on 1.8 acres of land instead of the required 3-acres for a house of worship. The controversial plans for the building – proposed on a residential lot at Old Short Hills Road and Jefferson …

•  10 Comments
• Photos (2)

Zoinks

5:40 am on Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Not at all. The process needs to work. And any appeals will be based on the record established during the hearing so it is important for the hearing to be thorough.   more ›

Heat Rises at Chai Center Hearing

Five-hour meeting was a preview of what's to come when public gets a chance to speak on Feb. 13.

If Monday night’s five-hour Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting is any indication, the next meeting on the proposed Chai Center synagogue in Short Hills could go long and could get interesting. In the crowded lunchroom of Hartshorn elementary, the audience was split between supporters of the Chai Center for Living Judaism and neighbors and other residents trying to keep the center from building a 16,350-foot on 1.8 acres of land instead of the required 3-acres for a house of worship. The controversial plans for the building – proposed on a residential lot at Old Short Hills Road and Jefferson Avenue – include a 148-seat synagogue, a library, a social room and multipurpose room. The building would replace two single-family homes currently on…

•  212 Comments
• Photos (10)

Bobby

1:33 pm on Monday, February 6, 2012

Sunny & Judy, don't try to make a zoning argument into a gender discrimination issue. You are trivializing gender discrimination with your attack. Go protest St. Rose, I hear the Catholics have zero female priests in the whole world!   more ›

Zoning Meeting with Chai Center Postponed

Chai Center leaders needed more time, will present revised plan on May 2.

At the request of Chai Center leaders, The Millburn Zoning Board of Adjustment has postponed until May 2 a meeting to review the center’s revised plans for the proposed 16,350-square-foot building. According to Zoning Officer Eileen Davitt, the Chai Center was to bring revised plans to the board on Monday but those plans are not ready yet. So instead, they will discuss them at the next scheduled meeting. The controversial plans for the building -- proposed for 1.8 acres of residential property at Old Short Hills Road and Jefferson Avenue -- include a 144-seat synagogue, a library, a social room and multipurpose room. The building would replace two single-family homes currently on the adjacent lots. One of the requested variances is for a …

• Photos (1)

Item: Chai Center Site, Lighting Plans Discussed

The two items were the subject of Monday's hearing for the proposed synagogue.

The details of the Chai Center's lighting and site plan were discussed during Monday's Millburn Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting, according to a report in The Item. An expert testifying representing the Chai Center said there are eight houses of worship that do not conform to zoning regulations, according to the report. A second expert said the revised lighting plan will prevent light from spilling onto adjacent properties, according to The Item. Chai Center officials are proposing a 16,350-square-foot structure containing a 144-seat synagogue, library, social room, and several multi-purpose rooms on 1.8 acres of residential property. The proposed building at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Old Short Hills Road would replace two …

Chai Center Wants to Use MMS for Overflow Parking

But the opposition to the proposal for a new synagogue said the plan does not properly address a long-term solution.

If the proposed Chai Center needs extra parking, the plans are to use Millburn Middle School down the street, but opponents have concerns. The center's traffic expert testified for a third time before the Zoning Board of Adjustment Monday night in the ongoing hearing for the proposal to construct a new synagogue at the corner of Old Short Hills Road and Jefferson Avenue. The next hearing is scheduled on Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. in Town Hall. The proposal for a 16,350-square-foot structure containing a 144-seat synagogue, library, social room, and several multi-purpose rooms on 1.8 acres of residential property has been met with strong opposition from The Concerned Neighborhood Association of Millburn Township, also known as Save Millburn. The …

• Photos (1)

Chai Center Hearing Focuses on Sanctuary Seating

The line of questioning was on how many people could fit inside the sanctuary and the adjacent social hall as a spill over area.

Questions abounded on how many people could fit into certain spaces, including the sanctuary, at the proposed Chai Center Monday night. It was the fourth hearing on the application before the Zoning Board of Adjustment to construct a new synagogue at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Old Short Hills Road. A fifth hearing is scheduled for Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall. The proposal for a 16,350-square-foot structure containing a 144-seat synagogue, library, social room, and several multi-purpose rooms on 1.8 acres of residential property has been met with strong opposition from The Concerned Neighborhood Association of Millburn Township, also known as Save Millburn. The building would replace two single-family homes currently on the …

• Photos (1)

Chai Center Hearing Focuses on Engineering

There were questions on the center's mailing list before the evening turned to engineering issues. The hearing continues on Aug. 23.

There were questions on the Chai Center's mailing list before the Zoning Board of Adjustment hearing shifted to engineering issues on Monday night. It was the third hearing on the application to build a synagogue at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Old Short Hills Road for the Chai Center for Living Judaism. A fourth hearing is scheduled for Aug. 23. The proposal for a 16,350-square-foot structure containing a 144-seat synagogue, library, social room, and several multi-purpose rooms on 1.8 acres of residential property has been met with strong opposition from The Concerned Neighborhood Association of Millburn Township, also known as Save Millburn. The building would replace two single-family homes currently on the adjacent lots. One of …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (3)

Uses of Proposed Chai Center Questioned

The Zoning Board of Adjustment continued its hearing Monday night on the proposed Jefferson Avenue synagogue.

There were a lot of questions for Rabbi Mendel Bogomilsky during Monday's Board of Zoning Adjustment hearing on the proposed synagogue, and most came with yes or no answers. The questions on cross-examination posed by Richard Lamb, an attorney for the neighbors opposing, centered on the uses proposed for the Chai Center for Living Judaism at the Jefferson Avenue. "We're trying to get at what the activities for the facility will be," he told the board when the team for the Chai Center objected to his line of questioning. It was the second hearing for the proposal before the zoning board, and a handful of residents in attendance had their chance to ask questions during the meeting. Bogomilsky's testimony concluded Monday night, and more …

• Photos (2)