Modesto Buddhist Complex Attains Go-Ahead from Supervisors

October 1, 2008

Author: Tim Moran

Source: The Modesto Bee

http://www.modbee.com/local/story/448437.html

The Wat Cambodian Church got a green light from the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to build a temple complex on Grimes Avenue west of Modesto, overturning a county Planning Commission decision.

The decision came after a three-hour debate from a standing-room-only crowd in the basement chamber at 1010 10th St.

On Aug. 21, planning commissioners turned down the proposed complex on an 11.68-acre parcel at 1538 Grimes Ave. after neighbors raised objections about traffic and potential conflicts with farming in the area.

Those neighbors raised the same objections Tuesday, but a large contingent of project supporters argued that the Cambodian Buddhist community is an asset to the area and won't cause problems.

Wat Cambodian Church officials made several concessions to neighbors' objections, including reducing the number of buildings on the property and the height of a spire on a meditation hall.

Supervisors voted 4-0 to reverse the Planning Commission, with board Chairman Tom Mayfield absent. They added a requirement that the church project put in landscaping along the Modesto Irrigation District canal on the north side of the property to screen it from farming activity.

See also: Buddhism, Zoning