Sufism Reoriented’s Proposed Sanctuary:
Comments from Community Meeting Nos. 1 and 2

The Saranap Community Association held community meetings on Sufism Reoriented’s proposed sanctuary on Nov. 13, 2008 and Jan. 15, 2009 at Grace Presbyterian Church on Tice Valley Blvd. Following presentations by SCA’s Application Review Committee and Sufism Reoriented, we opened the floor to questions and comments from the audience. Some of the questions were for the county, some for the SCA, and some for Sufism Reoriented. What follows are audience comments from these meetings.

 

The first section consists of comments made during the question-and-answer period following the presentations. This is followed by written comments from audience members on feedback forms they were given as they entered the building.

 

(Answers to questions raised at the November meeting were answered at the January meeting. At that meeting, some audience members asked questions requiring additional research. Our Application Review Committee consulted a number of sources, including Sufism Reoriented and the Contra Costa County Department of Conservation and Development, for answers to those questions. We said we’d post the answers on our Website once we’d compiled them. They’ll be posted soon.)

Oral Comments

• I live on Blade Way. I want to ask: Will the Sufi SCA board members be recused from voting on this application?
• I have a relative who is a member of Sufism Reoriented. He is a perfectly nice person, but I feel railroaded by so many members being involved in the SCA who may be biased.
• Loosely written bylaws allowed a controlling position on board to be gained by members of Sufism Reoriented. SCA may no longer represent neighborhood, and there is a concern about a conflict of interest. Fair or not, it gives the appearance of an unethical situation. I would like diversity on the board for considering so large a development.
• Not my cup of tea on design. Seems like it will be massive.
• I think the board members do represent the community. I’ve lived here since 1976, and it is important that the SCA include long-term residents of the neighborhood as members of the organization.
• I live on Blade Way. I wonder if story poles could be put up to show neighbors the height of the structure? Have they considered preserving the existing homes to decrease the size of the building (perhaps for the bookstore)?
• I live on Meek Place, Lafayette. I think a traffic study is needed on this busy corner. If data exists, it may not be from a recent study. An accident study and a speed survey for typical speeds should be done. Egress—right turn in, right turn out—should be considered.
• I’ve lived and worked for 25 years in the Saranap. When I walk in the neighborhood, I see upgrading all around in the neighborhood. This is great for the neighborhood! The project site is an unsightly corner. It had been a dumping ground, and didn’t smell good. I appreciate the cleanup.
• I have lived in the Saranap since 1975. I live in a three-story condominium building. There are several others in the area, and the neighborhood includes light industrial, a funeral home, offices, and retail. There is an old PG&E service yard that has been poorly maintained over the years. There are other non-residential buildings. It is not all homes in the Saranap. This project would be a nice transition from the business part to the east of the site and the residential part to the west and south of the site. This building forms a wonderful transition.
• I’ve lived here for 30 years. I am a member of the Sufism Reoriented choir. I want a beautiful building to sing in.
• I’m opposed, and for strictly selfish reasons. There will be a massive hole 50 feet away from my house. I have questions for the board, and I demand answers to them tonight! There is a ripple of opposition now, but it will grow larger, and become a tsunami of opposition. Question is, will this wave of opposition create a change of view by the board?
• I have lived here for 26 years and raised two children. The county could let some other larger or even maximum development go on this site. A two-acre park seems a better option than a possible multi-family home development.
• I think most people want to live harmoniously. I appreciate the concerns about representation on the board by members of Sufism. But aren’t any one of us expressing our own personal views about the project, our property values, and views on Sufism? All are expressing our personal views, and represent the best we can be. I trust the SCA board members to do the same. I’m grateful, and think it is a wonderful sign of the times.
• I have been a resident here in the Saranap for 25 years and raised my children here. I’ve served on the volunteer board of the Sun Valley Swim Team. I think a spiritual sanctuary like this represents peace in the neighborhood. I love the soft curves of the forms reflecting the area hills. I’m also very happy about a park-like space open to the public to sit in quiet.
• I’ve lived here in the neighborhood for 15 years. I hear concerns about the location and traffic. I have lived overseas in areas with religious diversity, and with many other problems. My mother spoke God’s name over the food we ate. Everyone loved her cooking! She brought God into our life as a good effort to shield us. This building is bringing God’s presence into my neighborhood. I believe there is an energy held in buildings like this. I’m willing to overlook small inconveniences to help that to happen.
• I have lived in the Saranap area for nine-and-a-half years. I’m an attorney. I’d like to speak on the issue of conflict of interest. From a legal standpoint, it doesn’t fit per the California Corporations Code for nonprofits. There is no legal reason to abstain. Conflict of interest only applies if a board member or director gains financially from a vote. As an analogy, if there is a vote to approve a new soccer field, and a board member happens to play soccer, there is no requirement for them to recuse themselves.
• I have lived here for nine years. I think of it not as a legal issue but as an ethical dilemma, since more than half the board members are members of Sufism Reoriented, even though it may be a beautiful building, with great gardens. I feel it will be less likely to have apartments due to the present zoning, and the requirements involved to change the zoning. The board voting on it seems self-centered. If it was in the public eye, it would be different. I appreciate being able to speak.
• I have been here in the neighborhood for 31 years. I’ve raised a child here. There have been heartfelt comments made by all these speakers. I have a vision that people can come together on this. Just like the white color represents a joining of all colors, I have hope for people coming together. I have been involved with the Sufism Reoriented neighborhood outreach program, and have been delighted at the comments so many have made.
• I have lived here for 30 years. I find the design beautiful and graceful, and feel it will enhance the neighborhood.
• I’ve lived 40 years in Contra Costa County and 20 years in the Saranap. Being a practicing architect, I’ve learned we will need to clarify our choices as we go forward into the future. There is a great need for more housing in the county. People want to live here. What would likely happen if this project, with its nice park, were not approved? Since it is zoned R-10, you would expect to see about 12 houses, but the county General Plan allows higher density, up to 22 houses, like Molly Way. This is a transitional neighborhood. I would prefer a park and a beautiful building. There will likely be less traffic than if 22 houses were built.
• I’ve been a Saranap neighbor for 15 years. I like the idea of a church in my neighborhood. My grandmother was from south of Chicago. She lived next to a church. Everyone knew and took care of each other. There was a unity of neighbors, a community of support. The neighborhood was not just the houses, but the support for each other.
• I live on Acacia Road. As to the legality, it is really more of a moral thing. My father was on the planning commission. He sold alcohol. He always recused himself whenever there were votes regarding a restaurant or a package store, as he had a direct stake in it. I think the members of the church should recuse themselves. I have no objection to the church, but I object to the size. I attended functions at the Holy Ghost Society hall, where the group has its church now. I think that building is fine for the area. I feel a coup was visited upon the SCA. It was legal, but I think it is a moral thing.
• I have lived in the Saranap area since 1971, and have been a Sufi since 1981. I have been involved with many prior incarnations of community groups in the Saranap. I have been a board member and vice president of the SCA. It is important to know about the history of the site and past actions. The site itself fell into disrepair. The owner wanted to subdivide it into several lots. The county General Plan shows the Saranap as urban. Zoning changes have been opposed in the past by the SCA. The General Plan allows it. Zoning does not list it as a standard use. The county would have to agree to it as an allowable use.
• I have lived in the neighborhood for 30 years, and for 25 years as a homeowner on Juanita. I married and had children here. I lost my husband here. I consider it my home, and I love the area. I am a member of Sufism Reoriented. We are residents, and we love our houses as much as anyone else. We all like trees and flowers and grass. It makes me happy. This project would make me more happy than another Molly Way-type, higher-density tract. It represents what we love, and what is important to us.
• It isn’t about a church building going in; they are already in the neighborhood. I don’t object to a church. A 33-foot high dome structure is different from the rest of the neighborhood. It is incompatible. I don’t like white. It looks like an oil refinery. Seems “in your face.” How can they coexist in Saranap?
• I have a question about the SCA board being objective on a project you are a member of. If you are predominantly Sufis, how can you be objective? The building seems “gi-normous.” It doesn’t fit in. It’s white. I’m okay with you people building, but you need to bring it down.
• I’ve been a teacher at the Sufism Reoriented-operated Meher Schools for 29 years. There seems to be misinformation. The project is not even as tall as the adjacent Le Boulevard apartments, and it’s further back from the street. I lived in North Carolina with a new church being built behind our house. I liked the lot; it was where I played. We were Methodists. The other church was Presbyterian. Later the church built swing sets and planted grass and flowers, and they seemed to be nice people. I met the reverend’s wife and made a friend. Later I became a Presbyterian. I am now a member of Sufism Reoriented. The people who came to the election—most were residents of the Saranap; they were neighbors.
• I’ve lived in neighborhood on Warren Road since 1994. The project seems way too big to me. I would lose soil from the side of my house. There will be a lot of earth moving. I just don’t see it. It seems scary to me.
• I’ve been in area for 34 years and have a house on Camino Posada. I was raised in a house on Freeman Road. My argument is not with Sufism. The area homes are 1950 ranchers with oak trees. I went to Montecito before it became the Meher Schools campus. These people are good neighbors. I’m an Irish Catholic. It isn’t about how beautiful it is. Can you incorporate the “ranchy” look? You are peaceful in your practices, but I have concerns about the SCA election. This is not my normal modus operandi, but I’m attracted to the opposition group for reasons raised tonight. I would like to work together so you get what you want.
• There is a history to this land, a Spanish heritage of plastered adobes, and the round structures—the round sacred spaces of the Native Americans. These round sacred spaces are indigenous to this land.

Written Comments

• I would like to be sent names and addresses of all SCA board members, please.
• I would like notification on actions this board will take as promised in response to comments at the Nov. 13 meeting.
• Issues/questions re Sufism/board of directors not answered. I would also like notification on actions this board will take as a lot of questions were not directly answered, but were vague. Thank you for the time.
• I’m very concerned with the construction and digging so deep down without disrupting the already shaky ground/landslides of Warren Rd. It doesn’t fit into the neighborhood; we already have a traffic problem/no sidewalks, etc. We don’t need this is our lovely, quiet Saranap. Corner of Boulevard Way and Kinney is busy enough without 375 people in a church on that corner. I don’t oppose a church, it is just too massive and big. You are building a compound in a country setting, which I oppose. Thank you.
• Stop—does not fit in the historic neighborhood. As long time homeowner living on Warren Rd. —too close. Not good for traffic problems or sound in the oldest neighborhood, and families and animals walking. It’s so UGLY!
• I appreciate the input from neighbors. It stimulates some ideas perhaps I hadn’t considered. I attended as listener.
• How building design reflects the traditions of Sufism.
• I felt thankful for the community meeting and hearing people’s views. I still support the current design. An important point is that only one dome is 33 feet and the rest are lower so it doesn’t have the massive feeling that a rectangular building would have.
• A round building is a message of unity. The ripple effect in a neighborhood.
• Am I not a member of the Saranap community? I have been a good neighbor for over 30 years. I feel my presence is being denied because I am a member of Sufism.
• I think the building is elegant and does not have to be the “same” as the older shingled houses. Most houses here are not dark.
• I appreciated the thoroughness of the information-gathering process from meeting participants.
• I live across from Le Boulevard and think I’d rather have a building harmonize with rolling hills than with big brown block buildings. I think the plans are beautiful.
• Still puzzled how a church could reflect the appearance of the Saranap? It's absurd to make a church look like a ’50s ranch house. Do people want it to look like Le Boulevard? Like 7-11? Also, the SCA wouldn't be all Sufis except for Lee if the opposing board members hadn’t resigned.
• I like and support this project. I think the project should be passed. It will be beautiful!
• If a group breaks off to oppose this project, we lose the communication among differing views. What a shame.
• I appreciated that people who had concerns will receive help in having them answered. I appreciated very much the balanced tone of the evening. People spoke from their hearts, and all comments were duly noted. It makes one feel that we are all in safe hands with this current board. The project is beautiful, carefully thought out, and I support it fully.
• I really think it would be a good idea to make it clear that Sufis weren’t bussed in to vote, that all who voted were Saranap residents. It was a wonderful meeting.
• I would like to learn more about the “takeover” by Sufism Reoriented. Who voted them in? Why did some board members resign? Was there really a “takeover”?
• How can the board not be biased and fully represent the “entire” Saranap community?
• I thought the meeting was very enlightening and came a great distance in bringing the community together. Please keep up the good work!
• I would not have known about this meeting if I had not called my neighbor about an unrelated topic. Please keep me informed.
• Thank you for giving people a chance to speak!
• Continuing discussion—answers to questions/issues.
• Would like some answers from the county here to answer questions completely and who is part of the process.
• Would like to hear more comparative info on the size of the building above ground as related to nearby structures on Boulevard Way. That wasn’t clear. Enormous as some stated?
• I think the main theme of concern is the scale of project. Some people are intimidated by the scope of the project.
• Shape of building and its meaning.
• New building will be lower than a neighbor’s house.
• Does the bookstore require a variance in an R-10 zoning area? Is there an exemption for a “church” bookstore? Story poles—yes!
• How does size relate to Grace Presbyterian and [the Jewish Community Center]?
• I want to know how the board is going to decide to represent all the diverse opinions.
• What are the typical guidelines for churches in the county? Does this proposal meet these?
• More detailed information about the project would be helpful—the presentation by Sufism seemed a little cut short.
• What is the board’s process for evaluating a project?