In “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” a knight expecting the grilling of a lifetime is simply asked his name, his quest and his favorite color before being told “off you go, then.”
When Congregation Netivot Shalom appeared before Berkeley’s Zoning Adjustments Board Sept. 26, it too feared the possibility of a severe grilling — in this case over its proposed new home.
Instead, the 14-year-old Berkeley Conservative congregation’s plans for its first permanent building were passed quickly and unanimously, with one board member paying the congregation the ultimate compliment: “Welcome to the neighborhood.”
“From what we had, we didn’t expect any opposition…But, being Berkeley, you never quite know who will stand up at the very last minute and say, ‘I have a problem,'” said Michael Irwin, treasurer of the congregation’s fund-raising campaign.
“It was a celebration. It was clearly a different atmosphere than when Beth El had to appear,” he continued, bringing up the laborious process the Berkeley Reform congregation went through in recent years over its proposed expansion plans. After years of debate over environmental and zoning concerns, Beth El’s plans were finally approved in 2001.
While Beth El’s plans turned off many neighborhood residents, those living, doing business or worshipping in the vicinity of Netivot Shalom’s future downtown-area home are emphatically welcoming the congregation. A house of worship is seen as a decided upgrade over the former resident of 1316 University Ave.: Jay Vee Liquor, a store known as a haven for false ID-toting minors and semi-intoxicated loiterers.
In fact, Netivot Shalom’s Rabbi Stuart Kelman said two neighboring churches even wrote letters of support to the ZAB.
“We’re through, we’re finished, we have all the necessary approvals from the city of Berkeley,” said Kelman.
The nearly 400 member-family congregation has amassed more than $3 million of an intended $5 million for the project, placing it slightly ahead of schedule, according to Kelman. Netivot Shalom’s building committee is currently moving to hire a contractor, and the rabbi expects to “pop the roof” off the “shell of the Jay Vee Liquor store” shortly.
The congregation’s new building will feature two stories, a sanctuary with a seating capacity of roughly 300, a social hall, classrooms, kitchens and offices. Kelman anticipates leading services in the new synagogue by fall of next year.
Since its founding, the congregation has been renting office space in North Berkeley and holding services and events at the Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center.
Netivot Shalom purchased the Jay Vee site in May 2001 for $2.2 million after six or seven years of searching in vain for an affordable chunk of property in downtown Berkeley. The 23,000-square-foot lot, said Kelman, was the first such parcel of land the congregation ever had a chance to get.
The Berkeley Montessori School obtained the former site of the Santa Fe Bar & Grill next door to the Jay Vee site, and the congregation and school developed a joint-use agreement for parking and facility use. The school’s building plans were approved along with Netivot Shalom’s last Thursday.
Considering the state of the economy, Irwin said the congregation’s fund-raising success has been a pleasant surprise.
“We entered our campaign just as the economy started to tank and the stock market started its downturn. So it was whether or not people would have the commitment and be able to step up and put money into this project,” he said.
“Then it was whether we’d be able to get our building permit in the appropriate amount of time so we wouldn’t lose momentum. So, now it’s up to the weather and we’ll see if we can build it.”