The following is an article from CJN:

A referendum will be held June 19 to finally decide whether an almost 60-year-old chassidic synagogue on Hutchison Street can undertake a minor expansion, a project that is opposed by many area residents.

Congregation Gate David, which comprises about 30 families belonging to the Bobover community, has been trying since 2004 to receive municipal approval for an addition and other modifications to its premises at 5363 Hutchison St., between Fairmount and St. Viateur Streets, in the Plateau Mont Royal borough.

Last month, 199 residents of both the Plateau and Outremont boroughs signed a register, 41 more than the minimum requirement, requesting that a referendum be held on whether the project goes ahead or is withdrawn.

A total of 1,471 people are eligible to vote in the referendum. The results will be binding.

The synagogue is located in a residential zone and under provincial law, any derogation of the bylaws involving alterations to a building requires the consultation of those living or having businesses in the immediate neighbourhood.

On May 3, the borough council announced the referendum. Its only other choice was to withdraw the project, councillor Alex Norris told The CJN.

The plans were approved twice by the borough council – in February and back in 2008 by the previous administration, after numerous modifications were made each time. This was also the second register opened on the issue.

Eighty-one people signed the first register in the fall of 2009, well short of the 133 signatures needed to force a referendum.

The matter didn’t end there, because some residents of neighbouring Outremont who are against the project objected that they were not included in the consultation.

Hutchison is the border between the two boroughs.

The Outremont residents went to court and in 2009, a Quebec Superior Court judge upheld their right to sign the register and annulled the 2008 results.

Norris believes the project, now that it has been scaled back, should go ahead.

Neighbours have expressed fears that the expansion will increase noise, commotion and traffic. Some believe this is only be the first phase of future construction.

The most vocal opponent has been Pierre Lacerte who lives across the street and maintains a blog called Accommodements Outremont, in which he documents alleged violations of muncipal regulations by this and other chassidic congregations.

Although the Plateau approved the project, the vote was as close as it could be. The six councillors were split, with mayor Luc Ferrandez breaking the tie for a 4-3 decision.

The shul is located in a century-old house, one of a row of attached dwellings. From the outside it looks much the same as its neighbours.

The major change it wants to make is to extend the premises at the back.

The plans have been scaled back to include an addition of 400 square feet at the basement level and the construction of an eight-foot square patio in the rear. The congregation agreed to install air-conditioning so that windows can be kept shut, thereby reducing noise.

The seating capacity in the sanctuary will not be increased.

The congregation has also agreed to improve the landscaping and demolish a shed. There will be no modification to the façade, except for certain improvements.

“The congregation has co-operated fully. They have done everything by the book,” Norris said. “I think the plans as they stand represent an honourable compromise between the needs of the congregation and the concerns of residents.

“This congregation has acted in an exemplary manner… It’s not fair that they be scapegoated because of complaints about some other chassidic congregations not respecting bylaws.”

He noted that the synagogue was there before the current zoning was in place, and has “acquired rights.”

Norris added that the borough has gone to court to obtain an injunction against another synagogue that expanded into a neighbouring building before going through the proper legal channels. Lacerte has charged that municipal officials have been turning a blind eye when Chassidim break the rules.

Norris faulted the previous administration led by mayor Helen Fotopolus for not including Outremont residents in the first register. “If she had allowed everyone concerned to be consulted, this contentious issue could have been dealt with years ago.”

(Source: CJN)