WEST FORSYTH, GEORGIA, June 24, 2015 (by Kelly Whitmire, Forsyth News): The ongoing saga over plans for a Hindu temple in west Forsyth has taken a couple of twists this month. First, Forsyth County has filed a motion for reconsideration of Chief Superior Court Judge Jeffrey S. Bagley’s decision to reverse a conditional use permit awarded last summer to Chinmaya Mission of Alpharetta. Chinmaya wants to operate a religious place of worship and priest residence in an existing structure that is about 10,000 square feet on nearly 11 acres off Pittman Road. In his ruling May 29, Bagley denied a motion for summary judgment made by Chinmaya and returned the proposal back to the county’s planning department, where Chinmaya must begin the application process anew.
The move had been sought by James Cartwright and the Polo Fields Golf and Country Club Homeowners Association Inc. In addition, the county commission has decided against revisiting the local Zoning Board of Appeal’s decision that the proposed temple would have a religious use rather than an educational one. The zoning panel’s ruling essentially affirmed the commission’s 2014 decision to grant the conditional use permit. Under the land’s zoning as agriculture district, or A1, a religious center with a conditional use permit would be allowed while a school or personal service center would not.
Those backing the mission as a religious center compared the classes to Sunday school in Christian churches and said the children who attend them go to regular public or private school. They also maintained that all churches have separate programs not tied directly to worship.