Parking spaces at issue in Hindu temple plan
BY REBECCA MORTON Staff Writer

MARLBORO - Representatives of the Hindu American Temple and Cultural Center, Wooleytown Road, continued to present testimony before the Planning Board on Nov. 7 for a proposed new 32,596-square-foot two-story temple and multipurpose hall and a 15,170- square-foot two-story priest quarters.

Attorney Jonathan Heilbrunn is representing the applicant.

Testimony for the authentic Hindu temple was first heard on Sept. 19. At that meeting Dr. Mani Yegnasubramanian, who serves as an honorary adviser for several temples in the United States and Canada, spoke about how the features in the proposed building would meet scripture requirements.

The Hindu American Temple and Cultural Center's current structure does not meet certain scripture mandates, according to information presented at the Sept. 19 meeting.

At the Nov. 7 meeting the applicant's engineer and planner, Lorali Totten, spoke about the plans.

There was a concern that overflow parking would occur on festival days when the temple would have a large and steady flow of congregants throughout the day.

Traffic engineer Ken Fears, representing the applicant, said he measured vehicle occupancy at three other Hindu temples to gauge if there would be an overflow on festival days.

Not only did Fears believe that overflow parking would not be a problem, but he also said it appeared as if the temple would not have any adverse impact on the surrounding area's traffic conditions.

He said a traffic study was conducted along Wooleytown Road. Counts were taken at the intersections of Wooleytown and Texas roads and at Wooleytown and Tennent roads.

Results from the study showed that peak times at these intersections during the work week occurred in the morning hours and in the evening ending before 7 p.m. On weekends these areas peaked in the afternoon, according to Fears.

Fears said the peak time for the temple is expected to be at night starting at about 7 p.m. and concluding at about 9 p.m.

In his calculations Fears said he used the estimate of 60 cars arriving every hour, which he said is a worst case scenario. His calculations showed that even with those 60 additional cars the surrounding area should not see a negative impact.

Confusion arose in determining the number of parking spaces needed at the site. The board's engineer, Jeffrey Staiger, said his calculations indicated that the applicant was proposing too few parking spaces.

Jennifer Beahm, the board's planner, said the municipal ordinance states that if there are no seating areas, such as pews, then the calculation for parking is to come from the square footage of the space. Beahm said the ordinance did not specify if it pertained to the entire floor area or merely spaces where worshippers would be.

Staiger was calculating the number of parking spaces required by using the measurements of the entire temple floor, approximately 16,115 square feet.

Totten's calculations came from the amount of space that would be occupied by attendees. It was noted that certain areas throughout the temple would not be accessible to those worshipping, as priests are the only ones allowed to enter.

Board members indicated they want the parking discrepancies clarified before they make any decision on the application. The representatives of the Hindu temple are expected to return before the board on Dec. 19.