Planners to hear proposal to build 23,000-sq.-ft. religious center along Route 34
A contentious proposal to build a Hare Krishna religious center along
Route 34 will come before the Old Bridge Township Planning Board on
Dec. 6 amid continued concerns from residents.
The project, first submitted to the board in February 2009 by the
International Society for Krishna Consciousness of central New Jersey,
aims to construct an approximately 23,300-square-foot, one-story temple
with a basement and 4,200-square-foot, two-family priest’s quarters on a
6.3-acre property along Route 34 between Highview Terrace and Sheila
Court, according to the applicant’s attorney, Jonathan Heilbrunn.
The new proposal makes several changes from the original application,
Heilbrunn said, and takes some past concerns into consideration.
The new ISKCON proposal significantly cuts the size of the temple —
which originally was proposed to be 38,000 square feet — and changes
some of the design of the building, Heilbrunn said. A dome that was
originally proposed for the temple has been eliminated.
Heilbrunn said that the temple would stand at 35 feet high, which is permitted under the current zoning.
To move forward with the project, Heilbrunn said the group is
requesting a variance regarding the landscaped area ratio, as well as a
waiver to allow for a 50-foot buffer from Route 34.
Heilbrunn said that he is also working with the state Department of
Transportation for approval of a driveway onto Route 34. The project is
important for ISKCON, whose members have been practicing out of a rented
facility in the township, Heilbrunn said.
“They want to have a home of their own,” he said.
But area residents continue to fight the project, forming the United
Old Bridge Residents group and hiring attorney R. Bruce Freeman to
represent them in the matter. Resident Sal D’Angelo said that while the
temple is smaller than the one originally proposed, he still has
problems with the location of the religious center.
“While this application is smaller than the previous one, the lot for
this new temple project, a lot surrounded by hundreds of residential
homes, on a two-lane road, is still a poor location,” D’Angelo said.
“The board will consider the requested variances, and affected
homeowners and community residents should question this large
construction project plan.”
David Cannizzo said that with ISKCON traditionally hosting numerous
festivals that attract large crowds, the Route 34 property is simply not
the right place for the temple.
Cannizzo said there are many other places in Old Bridge along Route
18 and Route 9 that would be better for the religious center and be
better in accommodating heavy traffic.
“We fully support them in their effort to practice their religion and
grow their religion. We fully support them inside of Old Bridge,” he
said. “But they are simply trying to squeeze something that really
belongs on a 10-plus acre piece of land into a 4- or 5-acre plot.”
