After church officials made their final pleas before the Planning Commission last week to make a decision on whether or not to approve their project, the commission answered their prayers with a 4-1 yes vote.
But one neighbor who’s opposed to the project has decided to appeal the ruling.
Sonia Gupta, who lives across from the proposed development of a parish hall and gymnasium by St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church, 4001 Stoneridge Drive at Rheem Drive, said at Tuesday’s City Council meeting that she felt the location of the to-be-named Pope John Paul II Activity Center was not appropriate.
She also accused city planners and some members of the Planning Commission of being biased in favor of the church, and asked the council to appoint an independent consultant to evaluate the commission’s decision.
“Frankly, I have reservations about the way the evaluation process was done,” Gupta said. “For one thing, city staff sent a letter on Sept. 28 to the commission supporting the expansion, which was a week before our community held a meeting to consider it. Basically, they ignored the residents and never aired our concerns.”
The appeal, which blocked the City Council from OKing the Planning Commission’s approval, will be heard at a public hearing by the council in mid-January
It’s a setback for church officials who have been frustrated by repeated delays. In October, the proposal was continued by Planning Commission Chairwoman Anne Fox and in early November, a quorum of at least three planning commissioners couldn’t be reached and the meeting, which included a vote on the plan, had to be rescheduled.
St. Elizabeth Seton plans to construct the 22,296-square foot parish center and gymnasium because the congregation has outgrown the current facilities.
“The Catholic community has 5,000 families that would benefit from this center,” said CYO athletic director Frank Spindler. “We’re not talking about a card room or liquor store here.”
Father Dan Danielson added that the CYO program is open to all children in the community, not just those in the Catholic community.
“We feel this is the next need we as a community has,” he said.
A large majority of the packed Council Chambers consisted of parishioners, but a handful of people who opposed the project were also in attendance, including Gupta and her husband Rohit, who said they moved into their house eight months ago and were concerned about increased traffic and their children’s safety.
Eric Souza, vice president of the Pleasanton Village homeowners association, said residents of their community near the church were concerned about traffic, noise, safety and parking. After those involved with the Catholic Youth Organization, which is a part of St. Elizabeth Seton, said the gym wouldn’t be used in the summertime, opponents said they weren’t confident that could be guaranteed.
“Our concerns are not so much now, but what could be in the future,” Souza said.
Another HOA board member said the parish hall and gymnasium would be like “a drive-thru Starbucks” with people constantly dropping off and picking up their kids.
Opponents of the project also questioned the building’s proposed height of 34 feet. One businessman said it would block his office views. Architect John Miller explained the gym has to be at least 25 feet tall for sports regulation purposes and the extra 9 feet on top of that is needed for plumbing, piping, paneling and roofing.
Many church parishioners who spoke in support of the project said the new center would be a great asset to the city and that church officials have worked with residents to be good neighbors.
The project stems from the church’s master plan, which was approved in 1989. As part of the current proposal’s plans, the original multi-purpose/gymnasium and classroom buildings were combined into one parish center building with a gymnasium and relocated to different part of the property. The new location is what concerned Gupta and prompted her to file an appeal. Chairwoman Fox gave the dissenting vote to the project also for that reason.
Parking issues were also a big concern. A business across the street from the church agreed to allow parishioners to park in its parking lot which has 95 spaces, but some, including planning commissioners, questioned whether they would actually use the lot, which is quite a distance away.
Before commissioners took their vote on the project, they added a condition to the approval that parking on Stoneridge Drive be allowed during church hours on Sundays to help the situation.
