Tracy, California: A Sikh group in rural Tracy is looking to expand with a plan to build a 10-acre site that would accommodate a larger congregation.
Representatives of the Gurdwara Gur Nakak Parkash on West Grant Line Road are scheduled to go before the San Joaquin County Planning Commission tonight to discuss the project. The plan calls for a two-phase construction of a temple facility with room for 800 people. The group’s existing temple holds 170.
“Everybody is very excited,” spokesman Beep Singh said. “The space we already have is too small, and now we have bigger membership, and that’s why we want to expand — want to make it a landmark building.”
According to a staff report from the planning commission, which recommends approval, the first phase would consist of a two-story, 19,940-square-foot assembly hall, as well as a 2,300-square-foot restroom building and a parking area. Phase two would add a two-story, 14,750-square-foot kitchen, dining room and retreat building for religious assembly.
The temple built in 1997 consists of an assembly hall with a kitchen and restrooms for recreational purposes, a primary residence and a second dwelling for religious elders. Also on the site are two agricultural buildings.
According to the project consultant, Tony Singh, the religious community wants to build a facility to accommodate its needs 10 to 15 years into the future.
The new temple would host prayer services Sundays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, as well as four outdoor special events throughout the year. Beep Singh said the congregation hopes to build on 10 acres of the 20-acre site, mainly because of the attendance increase at Sunday prayer services and special events, which include the Festival of Colors the first Sunday in March and the Festival of Lights in late October or early November.
“Everybody from the Indian community goes to the temple and pray and celebrate,” he said. “We need that kind of facility.”
The site has 81 parking spaces, but construction plans call for another 310 spaces, with landscaping to include 53 more trees.
Although the temple would be outside of city limits on the north side of Grant Line Road and east of Hansen Road, not everyone is happy with it. Three letters of opposition were filed with the county’s Community Development Department.
According to project documents, opposition letters were sent by neighbors and the San Joaquin Farm Bureau Federation. The letters expressed concerns about noise, utilities, architecture, land use, traffic, the number of members and truck parking.
The Farm Bureau letter, sent Oct. 10, worried about the rights of farmers to conduct normal farming practices — property owners near agricultural land are warned to accept the inconveniences or discomforts associated with agricultural operations or activities.
Beep Singh said his group is not worried about the objections, because, he said, they have no problems working with the surrounding farmers. He said they plan to put up a 6-foot wall to secure their boundaries and build a temple that will reflect a historical monument.
A traffic study in July 25 showed the need for certain accommodations, including 100 spaces of overflow parking, a 580-foot eastbound left-turn lane on West Grant Line Road approaching the main entry, a two-way left-turn lane on West Grant Line Road extending east from the main entrance, and a westbound right-turn lane from the west entrance with marked entrance ways.
Even with the commission’s approval, Beep Singh said, construction would not begin right away, due to the need for additional funding. He said the congregation hopes to start roadway improvements within a year and the first phase of construction in about two years.
Source: Denise Ellen Rizzo / Tracy Press