Features

A parking dispute between Congregation Beth-El, Berkeley’s largest Jewish congregation, and its soon-to-be neighbors will now be decided by city staff. 

On Wednesday, Beth El submitted a parking plan that, if it meets with city approval, will likely result in the congregation receiving a permit to move into its new 34,000-square-foot synagogue at 1301 Oxford St. 

Deputy Planning Director Wendy Cosin said the city would meet with neighbors over the proposal and likely rule on it within a week. 

Beth El has planned an opening celebration for Sept. 9. 

Despite months of negotiations, neighborhood leaders say the final plan still doesn’t honor a settlement agreement designed to keep Beth El members and guests from monopolizing available on-street parking spaces. 

“They’ve come a long way, but not far enough,” said Nancy Levin, a member of the Live Oak Codornices Creek Neighborhood Association, which includes blocks of Spruce and Oxford streets just east of Shattuck Avenue’s Gourmet Ghetto. Many synagogue neighbors have posted signs on their lawns asking Beth El to honor the agreement. 

Members of the group said if the congregation doesn’t offer further amendments to the plan they would ask city officials to withhold the occupancy permit. 

Without a permit, Beth El would be at least temporarily shut out of the synagogue it has spent five years and around $8 million building. 

“We really do believe that we are following the agreement and that we have resolved the parking issues,” said Beth El First Vice President Katherine Haynes-Sanstad. 

The congregation and LOCCNA have battled over the new synagogue for years since Beth El announced it was moving from its home two blocks away at the corner of Arch and Vine streets. 

After coming to terms over the restoration of Codornices Creek, which runs through the property, Beth-El officials and LOCCNA signed an agreement outlining the congregation’s responsibilities to keep the neighborhood unburdened from members and guests looking for parking spaces. 

Neighbors have insisted that street parking around Oxford and Spruce streets is sparse, while an environmental study commissioned by the congregation found that there were between 50 and 100 on-street parking spaces available at all times of the day. 

The compromise required that for events of 150 people or more the congregation must use “on site valet parking and satellite parking or other effective techniques.” 

The congregation has contracted with Safeway, St. Mary Magdalen Church, First Union Title company and the Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center to provide spaces for large events like weddings and congregation functions. 

Combined the satellite lots would add 102 parking spaces in addition to 31 spaces at the site and 26 on-street parking spaces along the synagogue’s street frontage. Beth El’s current home has two on-site parking spaces. 

Nevertheless Alan Gould of LOCCNA feared that several of the lots may not be available over the weekend when the congregation would likely need them.  

“They aren’t firm commitments,” he said. “The end result is the satellite parking schemes they have don’t seem like they would work.” 

LOCCNA members also oppose Beth-El’s proposal to monitor on-street parking usage during large events to gauge the synagogue’s impact on neighborhood parking. The plan calls for the congregation to lessen the neighborhood parking burden with additional signs and educational outreach if more than half of all available on-street neighborhood parking spaces are taken by Beth El patrons. 

“The general consensus is the 50 percent threshold [for taking action] is way to low,” Levin said. “It’s claiming too much of the parking spaces.” 

Haynes-Sanstad said neighborhood fears of big synagogue crowds were misplaced. She said that the 54 spaces on-site and along the synagogue’s frontage would be enough to accommodate up to 160 worshippers, a larger than usual crowd for Sabbath services. 

She added that the underground Safeway lot on Shattuck Avenue with 47 parking spaces would be available to the congregation for all occasions. Also parking at the church could be expanded from 15 to 115 spaces for some occasions because Beth-El patrons will be allowed to park in part of its playground area. 

“We’re going to direct people to the lots,” she said. “People will not be instructed to cruise the neighborhood.” 

Cosin said the final decision on the matter would be made by Zoning Officer Mark Rhoades based on whether the congregation’s parking plan honored the agreement with neighbors. Although Haynes-Sanstad is confident that it does, she said the congregation is still concerned the dispute could delay the synagogue’s grand opening. 

“Let’s just say we haven’t printed opening invitations yet,” she said.