BRIDGEWATER, NEW JERSEY, USA, April 28, 2009: After a five-year standoff, the proposed expansion of the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of USA was unanimously approved by the Board of Adjustment. Although some restrictions were placed on the project, temple chairman Madhusudhan Rao Chava said, “We’re very happy with the outcome. It took five years and we finally got what we wanted.”
The temple agreed to plant trees on a neighbor’s property, which is surrounded on three sides by the temple’s land, to block the view of the house of worship. The temple must also pay approximately $30,000 into a sidewalk fund in lieu of building a walkway. Temple trustee Bapi Ineedu questioned how many other local religious institutions were required to pay into that fund. He was also upset that the fence along the property could not display the temple’s logo, nor the “Om” symbol.
Ineedu said most people in the community have been supportive of the activities and expansion at the temple.