RESEDA : Official Misses Talk on Synagogue Plans

A group of Reseda neighbors Thursday held a scheduled meeting with leaders of an Iranian Synagogue who plan a controversial expansion. But the deputy for City Councilwoman Joy Picus, who called for the meeting in the first place, didn’t show up.

Jim Dawson, planning deputy for Picus, said he can’t attend meetings on Thursday nights because he has to care for his two young children.

His absence rankled several dozen homeowners who attended the meeting. At a hearing in April, Dawson offered to moderate the dispute between neighbors and the Valley Iranian Jewish Center--also known as the Eretz Cultural Center--and was granted a postponement to do so.

The synagogue has proposed building a 12,312-square-foot school for 150 children on the site at the corner of Wilbur Avenue and Calvert Street. Neighbors say the addition of the school will create traffic problems.

Both parties expressed annoyance Friday that Picus appeared to have left them to their own devices.

“Not only was he (Dawson) not there, Picus’ staff didn’t even return my calls,” said Lee Ambers, consultant for the synagogue. Picus “has an office of probably 20 people. Someone could have showed up,” he added.

Picus was defeated by former aide Laura Chick in the election this week. Leonard Knazik, who opposed the project, said neighbors felt Picus was “dropping the ball” during her last few weeks in office, leaving homeowners leaderless.

Nonetheless, Knazik said the neighbors had a cordial meeting with synagogue representatives.

Ambers said the synagogue has agreed to move the proposed school structure closer to Calvert Street to allow more parking on the site, a key concern of neighbors. Both sides also agreed to provide for regular meetings between the synagogue and a neighborhood liaison, to ease tensions and promote understanding between the two parties.