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The delicate dynamic between religious places of worship and traffic congestion is at the forefront of a proposed synagogue off Clint Moore Road west of Boca Raton that has residents claiming the size of the lot is too small and the traffic impact will be too much for the surrounding area to handle.
Chadd Gindin was only 12 years old when he began performing stand-up comedy at the since-shuttered Comedy Corner in West Palm Beach. He got his start after his mother spotted his natural talent for telling jokes at a North Palm Beach Elementary School talent show.
The Palm Beach Post, in a 1990 story about Gindin, pegged him as a “kid comic.”
“That was the thing that made me realize I could maybe do something in entertainment. If the newspaper says
Nonetheless, the County Zoning Commission voted 5-3 to issue a needed variance for the project to move forward despite a finding by county planners that one was not warranted.
Religious institutions are not required to meet all of the zoning code that is applied to other development. Critics argue the lot size — only 2.73 acre tract — is too small and other solutions have been ignored. The 18,065-square foot synagogue would have 246 seats and parking for 83 cars. Access would be from Clint Moore Road.
To build the synagogue, the Chabad wanted a setback variance passed to avoid “a bowling-like” building that it said would not work. Zoning Board Director Lisa Amara told The Post that the Zoning Commission approval was only for the variance, not the use which will be reviewed when site plans are submitted. Included in that review will be traffic plans, she said.
At the meeting, no one disputed the Chabad’s claim there was a need for a synagogue to serve the growing Jewish population in central Boca Raton. The issue was the small lot size and the traffic impact and current owner Ron Simon’s
failure to work with the community to combine two lots, which residents say would have avoided the situation.
Why is the parcel so small?
Simon, of Delay Beach, purchased the vacant 2.73-acre tract just east of the turnpike for the discounted price of $338,000 in 2013. The lot size was small and the rear setback of 100 feet was a red flag to a buyer because it made it