Commissioners hold public hearing for Hindu temple permit, condemn racist signs

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Forsyth County Commissioners heard from the public for the second time about a permit for a planned religious center in West Forsyth.

The Forsyth County Council of Commissioners discussed possible changes to a conditional use permit, or CUP, on a property approved for a place of worship at 2010 Kelly Mill Road in a regular meeting on Thursday, September 16.

The council held the first public hearing on the matter on August 19.

CUP applicant Hindu Center of Atlanta Inc. has been granted permission to construct a 9,355 square foot place of worship with a priest’s residence and 81 parking spaces on 6.85 acres. Commissioners approved the conditional use permit application at the end of 2019.

Since that approval, no land disturbance permit has been filed for the property and, according to Fire Chief Barry Head, there is also no certificate of occupancy or CO. revision of the plan. COs are documents issued by fire marshals certifying a building’s compliance with applicable standards and codes.

Those in favor of the modifications

Ginger Vigneault, a neighborhood resident who backs onto the property in question, explained that while there hasn’t been much noise coming from the property, the lights are bright.

Vigneault said his home is a 10th of a mile, or 528 feet, from the property, and the high-intensity parking lot and structure lights are shining in his home.

I took one [photo] last weekend that projected from the property through my patio doors, onto my garage door and cast a shadow of my hand on the door, said Vigneault. It’s how shiny [the lights] are.

Vigneault asked the board to consider changes that could help him and other neighbors, such as using an evergreen tree line as a buffer zone for lights. She also said that she prefers the space not to be used before [the problems are] fixed.

Roger Seeholzer, another neighbor, said he was concerned for the safety of people visiting the property, particularly after a fire in December 2020 destroyed one of the property’s secondary structures, reducing it to ashes .

Seeholzer agreed with Vigneault that he believes the property in question should not be used for assembly purposes until the issues have been resolved and people can safely assemble.

Rupal Vaishnav, a neighbor next to the property, began by referring to an incident on Sunday, September 12, when race-insensitive signs were placed near the intersection of Kelly Mill and Bethelview Roads.

According to the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, MPs responded to a call at 8:35 a.m. on Sunday, September 12, regarding racist signs containing hate speech. The responding officer found a sign on Kelly Mill Road containing the word NO and in the middle of the O was a red dot.

Other signs were found on Bethelview Road by passers-by and owners.

The responding officer said the complainant who called about the signs believed the signs were racist and contained hate speech in that they targeted people of Indian descent, specifically stating that she believed the signs represented a derogatory term.

Vaishnav said the chants were very overwhelming and tried to distract and distract from the real purpose of the changes.

In my opinion, having been exposed to this property, and I am of the Hindu faith. It’s not so much about faith as it is about following rules and regulations, Vaishnav said.

He corroborated Vigneault’s claims about bright lights, saying the surrounding shrubs don’t help minimize the light beams.

I want people to understand that in my opinion this is not about trying to cancel the faith or a temple, because in this area alone I think there are at least four to five temples of the Hindu faith, said Vaishnav.

He said he also attended the first public hearing on Aug. 19 and spoke with a representative from the Hindu Center of Atlanta Inc. about these issues. He said he and other neighbors had been told the owner would contact them, but said he was not aware of anyone contacted.

I am not aware of any dialogue that has occurred or even attempted to occur between our neighborhood and the Hindu Center in Atlanta, Vaishnav said.

Those who oppose the changes

Ethan Underwood, attorney at Miles Hansford & Tallant, LLC., Spoke on behalf of the owner, Hindu Center of Atlanta Inc.

He said he was not consulted on any of the new conditions presented, such as the ban on outdoor amplified speakers and the rule that activity on the property could not continue until the building approved in. the CUP was not built and had not received a CO. .

Underwood also made reference to the breed-insensitive signs put up near the property over the weekend.

We have now, at that same meeting, had to remind the community that the Indian community is welcome here because of the racist signs that have been placed on [Bethelview Road], Underwood said. Yet we are now talking about adding significant zoning restrictions for a religious use that has never been applied to any church, mosque or synagogue.

Underwood said his client filed an RLUIPA, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, Notice and Reserve of Constitutional Rights on Aug. 18.

He said the customer was trying to be a good neighbor and would be willing to comply with certain changes such as noise and luminescence caps.

According to Underwood, the condition that the property had to have a structure in order to use it for assembly was inconsistent with the First Amendment.

Dhananjay Gupta, who is associated with the property, said he was ready to resolve any issues, but had never received a complaint from any neighbor since the temple was in operation.

I promise in front of all of you that if any complaints are received by me, I will definitely respond to them, Gupta said.

Gupta said he and his friends met the plaintiffs outside of the first public hearing in August to exchange phone numbers. He also said his number was posted on the temple’s Facebook page in case anyone had a problem.

He asked, as a responsible citizen of [Forsyth County], that there should not be any harsher or stricter conditions imposed on this property.

Deen Chandora, who frequents the temple, was concerned that some photos or videos of lights and noise were misleading. He said there were a lot of trees around and that from the property visitors could not see the surrounding housing estate.

You can’t even see the subdivision houses from that dwelling, he said. So my request is to come and check what I’m saying and see [for] yourself and hear [for] yourself before making a decision.

Many others who attend the temple have asked the council to treat the property fairly and not to impose harsher or more stringent changes to the CUP. Visitors said it was a peaceful place for them to do meditations and classes, and they wanted to welcome everyone.

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