Source: Wicked Local Cape Cod/GateHouse News Service
After losing several rounds with the city Zoning Board of Appeals, a North Utica, N.Y., Buddhist temple is taking to court its fight to erect a white marble statue in its front yard.
In documents filed earlier this month in state Supreme Court, an attorney for the Dau Trang Minh Dang Quang Temple argues that opposition to the 12-foot statue of a Buddhist saint stems from the board's unwillingness to consider the statue's religious significance, and not its desire to rigidly adhere to city height restrictions that limit “accessory structures” to 10 feet.
The Quan Am statue's total height has been in flux. The temple first planned to place the statue on a 3-foot pedestal, but at the November meeting said it would jettison the platform to reduce the total height.