
January 23, 2010
BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) has been actively promoting a community that is strong in mind, body and spirit through various programs and activities in the areas of education, the environment and health care in the area for the past several decades. Since 2004, BAPS Chino Hills has been striving to live these ideals through regularly participating in annual food and toy drives as well as other community events in conjunction with community organizations such as the Friends of the James Thalman Library, Caring for the Hills, Chino Hills High School Athletic Department and Habitat for Humanity. BAPS has also hosted health fairs, blood drives, education fairs, and career-building events. Our participation in community events and programs has indeed brought our congregation joy and satisfaction.
Chino Hills has also been an incredibly warm and welcoming home for us as we continue to develop at our new facility on Fairfield Ranch Road. Having completed the various buildings associated with the Mandir (temple), including an assembly hall, classrooms and a gymnasium, home to the Chino Hills chapter of the National Junior Basketball Association, our congregation is now prepared to turn to the important work of building the Mandir, the most important part of our worship facilities.
Having taken into consideration input from a wide variety of community members and leaders and having consulted the Chino Hills Community Development department in the preparation of its application, BAPS submitted an application seeking approval to complete its traditional Hindu Mandir on January 20, 2010.
BAPS seeks to amend the City’s Development Code to allow spires and other architectural projections associated with a religious facility to be up to 80 feet tall so long as:
• The site is at least ten acres in size
• The architectural feature is located at least 100 feet from a Medium Density Residential (RM-1) zoned parcel
• The architectural feature is made of non-combustible materials and is not for habitation or storage
• The footprint of the architectural feature does not exceed 10 percent of the footprint of the religious facility
We seek this amendment because our religious scriptures require a traditional, stone-carved Mandir to conform to certain dimensional requirements (including the height) in order to be sanctified for worship. These scriptural requirements provide that the tallest spire, which tapers to a diameter of 2 inches at its highest point, be 78 feet in height. The majority of the Mandir will be below 35 feet, with only 5.76 percent being over 42 feet. Without the required dimensions, the Mandir would not be complete, and therefore worship inside the Mandir could not occur.
Given the seismic realities of Southern California, BAPS was required to increase the height of the foundation to 16.7 feet. Despite this increase, BAPS was able to decrease the height of the stone structure of the Mandir by 7.1 feet.
The BAPS family looks forward to working with the City and community to complete this process and to allow our congregation to realize its ability to fully worship in a scripturally-authentic Mandir.
