A proposed amendment to the zoning ordinance of the town of Woodbridge, near here, may delay plans for the construction of a new synagogue by the B’nai Jacob congregation of New Haven and leave the congregation without a spiritual home for the first time in three-quarters of a century.
The congregation, forced out of its present downtown location by an urban redevelopment project, bought a plot of land in Woodbridge after two years of searching for an appropriate site for the synagogue. It was planned to break land this spring for the synagogue, which will also house a kindergarten and a Sunday school, and an off-street 500 car parking lot. The present synagogue building is scheduled for early demolition.
Meanwhile, the new amendment to the ordinance calls for public hearings at which religious organizations must appear before being granted a building permit. If this section of the amendment is adopted, congregation president John J. Fox fears, the ground breaking will be delayed and the $1,000,000 already invested in the site endangered.
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