Sufism Reoriented’s Proposed Sanctuary: |
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| At the SCA’s second Community Meeting on Sufism Reoriented’s land-use permit application to build a sanctuary on Boulevard Way, held Jan. 15, audience members asked a number of questions requiring additional research. We consulted a number of sources, including Sufism Reoriented, the Contra Costa County Department of Conservation and Development, and others as indicated, for the answers to those questions, which appear below. | |
Questions for Sufism Reoriented |
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| Several people asked for clarification or additional details on topics that had been addressed by representatives of Sufism Reoriented in their presentations at the November and January Community Meetings. The SCA requested this information in a letter to Ira Deitrick, president of Sufism Reoriented. Here is his response: | |
| Q: A resident whose home is at the corner of Warren Rd. and a private lane providing access to Sufism Reoriented’s parsonage on White Horse Ct. has expressed concern that a possible fire- access lane to the sanctuary would require removal of trees on or next to her property. How would you address this concern? | |
A: Actually, we addressed this concern last year when we first learned of it, having met with the resident in question. About one year ago, when Sufism Reoriented learned of this neighbor’s concerns, it set about redesigning the project to eliminate the need for fire access to the new sanctuary through the easement we share with her and two neighbors. Fire access for the sanctuary is now provided from Boulevard Way. Sufism Reoriented’s parsonage originally used the easement in question as fire access. However, after White Horse Ct. was constructed, the easement was not used as daily access to the house, but it continued to be used as a fire-access route. When the new sanctuary is built, the parsonage will again share the easement with the three other homes for daily access. The resident in question is now concerned that when the parsonage renews its daily use of the easement, the fire marshal will require the removal of trees that have grown up within the easement and make her reset her fence, which is built partially in the easement, so that the easement will have its full 20 ft. width as required by statute. However, Sufism Reoriented is not requesting any changes, since the neighbor enjoys the trees and the easement has served the four properties in its current condition for many years. Sufism Reoriented hopes that the fire marshal will continue to let the four houses use the easement as it is, as they have for decades. |
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| Q: There were several requests at the Community Meetings that Sufism Reoriented put up story poles on the site, and some at the meeting felt that Sufism Reoriented’s explanation for not doing so was not clear enough. | |
A: Story poles would not give a clear, fair picture of how the building will look. They would be very misleading, causing the untrained eye to focus only on the highest point, when the average height of the sanctuary is only half as high (17½ ft. above grade) as an adjacent home (35 feet above grade). The Sufism Reoriented sanctuary is circular, with many domes of several heights. It would take several hundred poles to even begin to show its form. Even then, the use of story poles would be visually confusing, as story poles cannot demonstrate the receding curvilinear perspective of the building. This is a key element of the design. Also, story poles cannot show the external materials, another key element of its appearance. Most importantly, story poles cannot illustrate how the building will look surrounded by veiling trees. Sufism Reoriented, at substantial expense and time, has created a series of true-perspective renderings that accurately show how the sanctuary will look from different points in the neighborhood. These computer-generated renderings are recognized professionally as the most accurate method of demonstrating a project. They show the trees that will be planted as they will look after one, three, and six years. One cannot understand how the building will appear to the neighborhood without seeing the renderings with trees from different vantage points around the neighborhood. Sufism Reoriented has shown copies of these renderings to almost 1,000 neighbors and had them on display at open meetings. |
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| [It was suggested at the meeting that the SCA post these renderings on its Website. Discussing this possibility later, SCA board members agreed that doing so would not be appropriate and decided alternatively to provide a link to the section of Sufism Reoriented’s Website where the renderings are posted. http://sufismreoriented.org/new_sanctuary/visualizing/tree-growth.htm ] |
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| Q: Some in the audience said they felt that the reason behind Sufism Reoriented’s decision to remove all of the existingtrees was not clear. Also, there was mention of heritage oak trees on the property. Are there such trees on the proposed construction site? | |
| A: There are heritage trees on the site. A heritage tree is any tree that has a circumference of 72 in. Some of the heritage trees are oaks. These trees are covered by the tree-preservation ordinance, and the county makes provisions to compensate for the removal of these trees. In fact, once the project is completed, there will be many more trees than there are currently on the site. They will include a wide variety of beautiful screening and ornamental trees, both deciduous and evergreen, placed artistically by the renowned landscape designer SWA Group. The new landscaping will open up a lovely view corridor of Mt. Diablo. There are several reasons that all the trees must be removed to build the new sanctuary. Foremost is the fact that in order to construct the building and provide parking, all the trees simply must be removed. Sufism Reoriented has placed two-thirds of the building under ground in order to reduce the impact of the building on the neighborhood. In order to accomplish the required excavation—both the actual excavation and the access required to accomplish the excavation—the removal of most of the trees is required. Additionally, as part of its commitment to building a “green” building, Sufism Reoriented is using a ground heat-exchange system to cool and heat the building, which not only conserves a tremendous amount of energy but also eliminates the need for a noisy, ugly cooling tower. This ground heat-exchange system requires 23,000 ft. of pipe six feet under the entire parking area and thus further requires the removal of trees. That, along with the grading of the parking area, requires that the balance of the existing trees be removed. The removal of the existing trees will be mitigated by the planting of many new trees. |
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Q: Is it possible to place the utilities under ground? |
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| A: The utilities on site will be placed under ground. The county apparently has no plans or funds to place under ground the six off-site utility poles that service both sides of Boulevard Way and much of the immediate neighborhood. | |
| Q: Someone said the plans and renderings he’d seen did not show pedestrian access to the sanctuary from Boulevard Way. Do pedestrians share the driveway with cars? | |
| A: The design includes new sidewalks along Boulevard Way and then into the sanctuary grounds to the front entrance of the sanctuary. Pedestrians do not share the driveway with cars. | |
| Q: An audience member asked why so many toilets are needed for such a relatively small congregation. | |
| A: The number of toilet facilities needed was determined by public-assembly use. For example, when Sufism Reoriented holds its events and performances, 350 people have only 15 to 20 minutes at intermission to use the bathroom facilities. This requires a large number of such facilities, and because women require more time, we have added extra toilets for them. Further, these facilities are also used by members of the 70-person chorus, as well as others participating in musical worship programs. | |
| Q: Will there be access to the sanctuary by other nonprofit civic and/or membership groups in the Saranap community for non-Sufism Reoriented activities? | |
A: The new sanctuary is not the kind of building that is generally held open to the public for unrelated uses. The building is a private, devotional building that is fully used by its membership. However, Sufism Reoriented would be pleased to open its doors for occasional use to local nonprofit groups interested in the welfare or education of children or other voluntary, charitable activities, for special purposes, and as space is available. Sufism Reoriented does have special events from time to time to which nonmembers are always welcomed. |
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Q: Would it be possible to create a project timeline so that neighbors would know approximately how long the excavation and other phases of constructions will take? |
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| A: We are reluctant to give out projected timelines for activities which we cannot control and which are subject to many vicissitudes (such as time of year we start construction, weather, hours of operation recommended, unforeseen work stoppages, and method of sheeting and shoring used), as it creates false expectations. However, I can say that once we receive the construction permits, the excavation phase is likely to be many months, and the overall project is likely to take a couple of years. I am sorry there is no way I know of to make a more definite estimate. | |
A member of the SCA’s Application Review Committee posed these questions to an official at the Department of Conservation and Development. These are her responses. |
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Q: There are two applications in the materials sent to the SCA by the county. MS08-0011 is for a Reversion to Acreage by Map, combining seven parcels into one. LP08-2034 is for a 66,074- sq. ft. sanctuary and a 300-sq. ft. garage. Will these applications be considered separately, concurrently, or sequentially? |
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| A: They will be considered concurrently. | |
| Q: The proposed project includes a bookstore open for public sales. Is this a use permitted with a church, or would this use require a separate application or a variance to operate in the R-10 zone? | |
| A: Contra Costa County considers it a part of the other application, and it is a normal use—media and printed material for sale by a religious organization. No special application is required. | |
| Q: Are there typical or specific guidelines for the development of churches in Contra Costa County? Does this proposal meet those requirements? | |
| A: Contra Costa County does not have design guidelines for any specific types of buildings. There are no special requirements for a church project. There are no special floor-area ratios or lot-coverage requirements for a church. | |
Traffic Impact |
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The entrance to Sufism Reoriented’s sanctuary and grounds would be on Boulevard Way, across from Iris Ln. No single issue except the design of the proposed sanctuary and its suitability for the Saranap has generated more comments or questions than the possible impact of the sanctuary on traffic in the vicinity of the Boulevard Way–Kinney Dr. intersection. Several people asked for statistics on traffic accidents in this area. The California Highway Patrol keeps data on traffic accidents in the Saranap. We spoke with a CHP officer who patrols the area. He remarked about the safety of the Saranap in general and this stretch along Boulevard Way specifically and provided these statistics: |
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| There were no fatalities or serious injuries in any of these accidents. | |
Height Limits |
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| This information is derived from the county zoning code. | |
| Q: How are height limits established for a proposed building? Will the church height require a variance? | |
| A: Since Sufism Reoriented’s land use permit application is not yet deemed complete, no final determination has yet been made by the county on whether the project meets the building height definition or may require a variance. The project site is zoned R-10. The zoning code states, “No single-family dwelling or other structure . . . shall exceed two-and-a-half stories or 35 feet in height.” Elsewhere, building height is defined this way: “Building height means the vertical distance measured from grade to the top of structure directly above, with exceptions noted elsewhere in the code. Height may be measured from finished grade when such grade is below natural grade. Height shall be measured from natural grade when the finished grade is higher than natural grade.” |
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Impact of Excavation, Vibration from Construction Vehicles |
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Two audience members at the November Community Meeting had questions about possible impacts from excavation at the sanctuary site on properties in the surrounding neighborhood, especially those to the south along Warren Rd. bordering the creek. We spoke with a geologist who is familiar with the neighborhood and plans for the sanctuary. Not only did he anticipate no ill effects from excavation, he thought it might actually improve conditions. This is because groundwater upslope from these homes that would normally flow toward them would be interdicted by below-ground-level water-removal on the project site and would be diverted to storm drains or treatment. Moreover, he added, there is considerable distance between the project site and the homes to the south, even those immediately adjacent to it, due to setbacks on the site, front and rear yards of homes, and Warren Rd. itself. |
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