La Jolla Community Planning Association (LJCPA) board members voted unanimously during the Nov. 6 LJCPA meeting to deny building a La Jolla Chabad at Hidden Valley and Ardath roads. “LJCPA members voted 14-0-0 to uphold the actions of the Permit Review Committee and the Traffic and Transportation Committee to deny the project,” LJCPA board member Darcy Ashley said. “Both of those subcommittees denied the project.” Some residents near the proposed center spoke out against the project, voicing concerns such as an increase in traffic, a building too large for the lot and that the proposed preschool was not permitted inside the La Jolla Shores Planned District. Residents formed an organization called Friends of Hidden Valley to oppose the project. The group formed a Web site and attended area meetings. “Friends of Hidden Valley is committed to preserving the peaceful, uncongested quality of La Jolla’s residential neighborhoods,” the group wrote on the Web site. “We believe there is a more appropriate location for the Chabad complex.” Chabad La Jolla applied for permits to build an 11,666-square-foot religious complex at 2466 Hidden Valley Road and a 12,000-square-foot parking garage. “I want to reiterate to the community that if anyone in La Jolla can find for us an alternative or a better location that won’t drag out for three years, we will be happy to look at that location,” said Chabad La Jolla’s Rabbi Baruch Ezagui. Area residents expressed concerns regarding an increase in parking and traffic, saying accidents regularly occur around the proposed location. “The biggest thing is that intersection has a rating of ‘F,’” Ashley said. “Because the traffic is so challenging in that area, people are frustrated.” Ashley described the aggressiveness some people exhibit driving through the adjacent intersection that locals call “The Throat” because drivers exit La Jolla immediately onto the freeway. Chabad said it would encourage people not to drive to the center, saving residents’ parking spots. And Ezagui said the organization hired a parking specialist who studied the area’s parking. “It is obvious there is a traffic issue and the traffic issue has nothing to do with us,” Ezagui said. “The traffic study found out that our Chabad would be insignificant based on the number of cars we would generate a day.” Ezagui said La Jolla Chabad would not hold more than 96 people at any given time; the building’s maximum capacity is 96 people, he said. La Jolla Chabad is more of a residential facility, Ezagui said. “Because of all the drivers, you really take your life in your hands,” Ashley said, adding that she has pictures of a car driving down the wrong side of the street. Friends of Hidden Valley attended the November LJCPA meeting, arguing that Chabad needs more parking and the building was too large for the lot. LJCPA is an advisory board to the city of San Diego. For more information, visit http://www.lajollacpa.org or go to www.friendsofhiddenvalley.org. For more information about La Jolla Chabad or to contact Rabbi Ezagui, visit www.chabadoflajolla.com.