The Tarzana Neighborhood Council has decided to oppose plans for a two-story Jewish ritual bath project between Mecca Avenue and Reseda Boulevard, according to its Tuesday evening meeting agenda.
The project applicant, Rabbi Yosef Shaliach-Tzibur, is requesting a conditional-use permit to allow churches in an R1 zone, as well as a waiver of dedication and improvement requirements otherwise associated with the development of a religious facility. Plans also call for the 3,580-square-foot, 28-foot-tall project to hold a manager’s unit on its second floor. It would be located at 5300 Mecca Ave. and replace a vacant single-family home.
The building would serve as a Mikveh, or ritual bath used for the Jewish rite of purification, for women, providing an ancillary location for the Mishkan Torah Valley Community Kollel located about half-a-mile up Reseda Boulevard, planning documents show. The current closest Mikveh for women in the area is in Valley Village, about 12 miles from the project site, according to the project applicant in planning documents.
In its agenda this week, the neighborhood council lists a recommendation by its land-use committee that the council board vote to oppose the proposed project, citing concerns that “a commercial or (commercial-like) activity would be inappropriate for the location” and result in increased traffic.
The project, which is currently under review by the city of Los Angeles planning department, would provide seven at-grade parking spaces, according to plans.
The architect for the proposed development is listed as Jacques Mashihi of West Pacific Design Construction.
