Proposed Parking Restrictions Pose Threat to Daily Activities at Beth Jacob Congregation

The email didn’t mince words:  “the enactment of such a resolution will be devastating to Beth Jacob.”

The issue? What else? Parking.

Since 1954 Beth Jacob Congregation in Beverly Hills has had a cordial relationship with the residents of adjacent Wetherly Dr., the street that borders the synagogue. For a synagogue with no dedicated parking facilities, members and visitors have come to rely on Wetherly as their parking haven. Even with its two-hour parking limit, the street has allowed members and guests to have convenient parking so they can attend Beth Jacob’s robust schedule of weekday prayer services, programs and communal events.

However, if some Wetherly residents have their way, that may all change.

A petition to institute a street permit from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. has been circulated. Such a permit would essentially prevent all non-resident parking during the day. The petition was signed by the slimmest majority needed to bring the issue before the Beverly Hills Traffic and Parking Commission, although according to Beverly Hills, some who signed the petition have already withdrawn their support. The Commission will meet on August 5 and, after hearing comments via telephone from interested parties, will make a recommendation to the full Beverly Hills City Council.

To say the Beth Jacob leadership and membership are concerned is a vast understatement. More than 150 emails have been sent to the City of Beverly Hills voicing opinions on the new regulations under consideration.  “We don’t know if the emails are pro or con,” Shana Epstein, Director of Public Works for Beverly Hills said. “However, we can only guess that the vast majority are from synagogue members.”

“This regulation will make our shul the least accessible synagogue in the entire Pico-Robertson community when it comes to weekday attendance at davening (prayer services) and shiurim (classes),” the email from Senior Rabbi Kalman Topp and synagogue President Jonathan Stern, which was also sent to the entire congregation, read. In an interview, Stern added: “Without a doubt, these restrictions threaten to create an insurmountable parking hurdle for those who regularly attend our myriad of services and programs, not to mention important lifecycle milestones, many of which must be scheduled at the last minute.

“And, of equal importance, it would place an extreme burden on elderly members who do not have handicap placards and our many doctors who are on call and must leave the shul on short notice,” the email continued.

The synagogue is bordered by Doheny Dr. on the west, Olympic Blvd. on the north, Robertson Blvd. on the east and Whitworth Dr. on the south. All these streets, and those in between, have restricted parking already, leaving Wetherly as the last location for Beth Jacob member and visitor parking.

On Wednesday, July 28 Beth Jacob distributed a letter to each of the 30 homes on Wetherly inviting residents to engage in an open dialogue. “We believe it is important that our neighbors fully understand the dire implications of this proposal,” Stern said. “All we want is to continue to serve the many needs of the Beverly Hills community like we’ve done for the past almost seven decades.”

This is a developing story.