After more than four years of controversy, mountains of paper, more than a dozen formal hearings, many informal meetings and months of negotiations, the dispute over Congregation Beth El’s bid to build a new synagogue came to an end Sept. 13 with barely a whimper.
The Berkeley City Council hearing had been scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 11, but was postponed in light of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
By a vote of 8-1, the City Council certified the final environmental impact report, approved the use permit and overturned the decision of the Landmarks Preservation Commission denying Beth El an alterations permit. The honor of making the motion fell to Councilwoman Miriam Hawley, who represents the Berkeley district in which the Reform synagogue is located.
The one dissenting vote came from Kriss Worthington. He didn’t state any reasons for his opposition. but after the hearing councilwoman Betty Olds said, “That’s just the way he is. He votes no on everything.” (Worthington made news earlier this summer as the person behind Berkeley’s decision to cancel a City Hall ceremony honoring a visiting Japanese scout troop.)
The agreement, which was negotiated by all the parties, covers the size of the building, its placement, parking and hours of use. One of the major issues for opponents has been the segment of Codornices Creek that runs through the property. The agreement includes provisions for the maintenance and restoration of the creek.
“The strength of the agreement is the process established for ongoing rehabilitation of the creek,” said Mark Aaronson, also a member of Beth El’s negotiating team. Various parts of it, as well as provisions dealing with the creek, provide for ongoing monitoring and the possibility of future modifications should problems arise.
Although all parties have signed on to the agreement, some of the language is yet to be finalized. That will be done during the next two weeks. On Tuesday, the matter will be on the City Council’s consent calendar for final approval. That amounts to taking action on routine items, without comment by council members or the public.
In contrast to prior hearings where emotions ran high, the council chambers were packed and scores of people lined up to speak on both sides of the issue, the Sept. 13 hearing was surprisingly low key. About 20 members of the congregation were present and only a few holdouts spoke against the proposal.
“This [site] has been a landmark since 1976,” said Richard Wessel, speaking on behalf of the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association. “I want more mitigation, more design review.” When asked by one of the council members if he was on the negotiating team, he said he had been but “withdrew because I couldn’t support the project.”
His wife, Judith, also spoke, claiming that the presence of the synagogue “will make our lives less pleasant.”
But members of the synagogue are confident that when the new synagogue is operational, neighbors will find that their worries about noise, traffic congestion and parking are not realized and that Beth El’s presence enriches the neighborhood.
Harry Pollack, a past president of Beth El and one of its chief negotiators, was relieved that after the shocking events of Sept. 11, everything had been worked out and that synagogue members were not coming to a session fraught with controversy.
At the end of the 45-minute hearing, Mayor Shirley Dean acknowledged all the hard work of mediator Peter Bluhon and the negotiators, as well as the good will they all brought to the table.
“It’s all over,” said a very happy Olds afterward, in the hallway outside the council chambers. “Isn’t that great?”
The mood in the hallway was festive as congregants hugged and congratulated each other.
Although more design work needs to be done, Pollack hopes the synagogue will be able to break ground within the next year.
“We’ve already scheduled our first meeting,” said Pollack. “Our architects are in gear to take us to the next step.”
Before leaving for the night, congregants stopped to gather on the steps of City Hall, form a circle and put their arms around each other. Rabbi Ferenc Raj led the group in a Shehechiyanu, the traditional way to thank God for bringing them to a joyous occasion.