The following was a response to a letter published in June in the Contra Costa Times. This response was submitted to the Times by the Saranap Homeowners Organization as a rebuttal to the Interfaith Council editorial. Our response was not published nor did the Times give a reason for not publishing the letter:

In the June 30, 2011 edition of the Contra Costa Times, the Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County gave a blanket endorsement to the controversial building application of Sufism Reoriented in the Saranap neighborhood of unincorporated Walnut Creek. The authors of this letter, Messrs. Stein-Webber and Asher, pay scant attention to the specifications of the proposed building, and the legitimate concerns of Saranap neighbors about the size of the project, inadequate parking, the impact on homeowners living next to the project, the safety hazard associated with the entrance/exit driveway and other issues. This surprises us, coming from an organization whose cornerstones are fairness and tolerance.

The Saranap Homeowners Organization (SHO) acknowledges the right of Sufism Reoriented to build a religious facility in Saranap, but we oppose the size, scale and design of this project. The 66,000 sq. ft. building would require the demolition of existing single-family homes (which we oppose), and the removal of at least 3,400 truckloads of soil from the site. The entire 3.12-acre project would be closed off from surrounding homes by a high white masonry wall. The symbolism of this wall is disturbing to many of us.

This development is simply too big.  Its size and design would detract from the semi-rural residential character of our Saranap neighborhood; 13 stark white domes up to 33.5 ft. in height would stand in sharp contrast to the surrounding landscape and mostly one-story wood frame homes.  And we are left wondering why a small congregation, only 350 members, wants a building larger than the White House, which could easily accommodate well over 1,000 people. Other large church facilities in Contra Costa County, Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian, for example, have much larger congregations, and much more parking. Why is Sufism Reoriented different? They claim that their membership has been stable since the 1980’s, implying—but not promising—that they will never grow. And thus, they propose to provide minimal parking, only 71 spaces, because they all plan to walk or car-pool to the facility, rain or shine, day or night, forever. If the congregation ever grows significantly, the parking plan would fall apart. How can they promise that this will not happen over the life of a building designed to last 100 years or more? We believe that these assumptions are unrealistic, if not wildly optimistic.

Stein-Webber and Asher tell us that the proposed facility is “planned for proper scale” and is “modest and graceful” (words taken directly from a Sufism Reoriented press release). We disagree. It should be smaller, and fit the character of the Saranap neighborhood or be built elsewhere.

The issue is land use, not religion. Our opposition to this project is based on its specific characteristics, and has nothing to do with the religious beliefs of our neighbors. But just as religious prejudice is wrong, so is political correctness. Just because the applicant is a religious group does not entitle it to any special consideration, nor should it be exempted from the careful scrutiny and oversight that normally would be demanded of any private builder or developer.

The proposed Sufism Reoriented sanctuary is bigger than a regulation National Collegiate Athletic Association football field, which is 360 feet long by 160 feet wide. You can see the design of the sanctuary compared to the width and length of a football field in the image below.

How long is 360 feet? According to the Boeing Corporation website, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, which seats 250 to 290 passengers depending on configuration, is 206 feet long. The Airbus 380 is the world's largest airliner seating up to 525 passengers depending on configuration, and it is 237 feet long.

How wide is 160 feet? According to the California Department of Transportation website, an eight lane freeway would be 132 feet wide on average. According to Wikipedia, the width of the Golden Gate Bridge is 90 feet.

We read the information provided by Sufism Reoriented about the new sanctuary they are planning to build in our residential neighborhood. In the article above we show an example comparing the overall ground space of the proposed Sufism sanctuary to a football field. But how about the total square footage of floor space.

Their plans tell us that the structure will have 66,000 square feet of floor space. But just how large is 66,000 square feet of floor space?

If you think about farming, an acre is 43,560 square feet. The proposed 66,000 square foot Sufism sanctuary is over 50% larger than an acre.

Okay, how about a building-to-building comparison?

That piece of information is pretty impressive, isn't it? So let's compare the floor area of the U.S. White House to the proposed Sufism Reoriented sanctuary:

Here is some interesting information about the White House from an article in Wikipedia:

Today the group of buildings housing the presidency is known as the White House Complex. It includes the central Executive Residence flanked by the East Wing and West Wing. Day to day household operations are coordinated by the Chief Usher. The White House includes: six stories and 55,000 ft² (5,100 m²) of floor space, 132 rooms and 35 bathrooms, 412 doors, 147 windows, twenty-eight fireplaces, eight staircases, three elevators, five full-time chefs, a tennis court, a (single-lane) bowling alley, a movie theater, a jogging track, a swimming pool, and a putting green. It receives about 5,000 visitors a day.

This comparison makes one wonder why, with only 350 members, Sufism Reoriented needs 20% more square feet of floor space than the White House?

We read about a government building, the White House. Let's talk about a very large residence, one that was owned by an individual. Hearst Castle on the central California coast. It was built by one of the wealthiest men in the United States, William Randolph Hearst. It contains 60,645 sq. ft. of floor space in the main building. That building has 115 rooms, 38 bedrooms, and 30 fireplaces.

We have to wonder why we need something on this scale in our Saranap neighborhood.

In recent weeks, there have been many requests for the Sufism Reoriented development to erect story poles that will visually indicate the height and layout of the proposed building along Boulevard Way.  But what exactly are “story poles” and what do they do?

Story poles, as the name implies, tell a story of how a future building mass will fit on a site. The poles can be located to show the corners of a building, and also located to show the ultimate height of a roof line or other architectural feature. This image is taken from a Santa Clara County document about story poles.

The poles can be made of different materials, but usually are standard wood 2x4s. The poles used to demonstrate the height are usually marked in red to symbolize the actual elevation of the highest roof point, and string lines can be stretched from pole to pole to further illustrate the shape of a building.

Simple cross-braces at the base can be constructed to support the story poles. There are companies that offer to erect story poles, using the site plans to establish accurate layouts and dimensions. They usually charge a small fee of $100-$3,000 for their services.

For such a large development as the Sufism project, this would be a very easy and inexpensive way to provide an accurate illustration of the proposed building. In some cases, not only is it beneficial to the neighbors, but it also allows the development team to observe how the massing of the building relates to the overall site.

Typically, once story poles have been installed, the neighborhood and any reviewing agencies are notified, and people are allowed to visualize the proposed outline of the building, usually over a period of several weeks.

Now we all know what story poles are. The next question is… when are we going to see them at the Sufism project?

Even after numerous requests to install these simple building markers, Sufism Reoriented steadfastly refuses to acknowledge this issue.

After specifically requesting the installation of story poles during the January 27, 2009 meeting by me and several other neighbors, Chris Martin publicly stated that it would be too costly and too complicated to erect the story poles! We were told that it would cost some outrageous fee ($40,000.00 is the figure I remember being told) to have this accomplished.

Well... guess what?

Now it’s over three years later, and if you’ve been keeping track of Sufism’s little game of misrepresentation and diversion you probably know that their answer was completely false.

And to further confuse the issue we are now being told that story poles are old fashioned, and we need to rely on Google Earth and photo-perspective renderings to give a fuller and more accurate “picture” of the building. I am wondering how much simpler or accurate can it be than to stand up a 2x4 at the center of each dome, and one at each corner of the building footprint?

So I contacted a local contractor in the Walnut Creek area who provides story pole installation to other architects and developers. Describing the Sanctuary project in detail, the contractor said he could erect the story poles in less than a day. They would be installed based on the Engineer’s drawings, the location established by a field survey.

Hmmmmm… kind of makes you wonder what the big deal is regarding the installation of these story poles. Is the information they might provide so damaging that Sufism Reoriented is going to all this effort to discredit this issue?

Now we all know what story poles cost the next question remains the same: when are we going to see them at the Sufism Reoriented project?

This is an artist’s conception of the proposed Sufism Reoriented facility that was distributed in one of their publications:

This is the West Elevation drawing from the actual plans submitted to the County by their architect. It is the same view as the above illustration.

And this is a view of the elevation drawing (minus text and recolored in red) overlaid on the illustration:

The front doors in both images were sized and aligned for this comparison. They are identical. The small domes are the same size as well. You can say what you want about perspective etc. but the fact remains it is blatantly misleading. Where’s the center dome? Why are domes hidden behind the trees at the left and right? This and other representations have been used to misinform the Saranap neighborhood and the general public in the County at large, and are the centerpiece of Sufism Reoriented claims that they have massive community support for their development. This is why we need to have story poles erected so everyone knows the immense size of this project.

The last time I checked, Boulevard Way is a two way street. But lately it seems that it only runs one way, leading directly to the Sufism Reoriented massive building project.

The County Planning Commission recently approved the Sufism Reoriented application for a 66,000 sq. ft. building in a residential neighborhood in the Saranap area of Walnut Creek. After three long meetings, with hundreds of people voicing their concerns about the project, the County approved the building with nary a question or follow-up about the size, the use, lack of parking, or other valid issue raised during the hearings.

The County says Sufism Reoriented meets the conditions of approval, and has the right to build this massive project. The County made sure that Sufism Reoriented rights were unfettered, and nobody could claim that Sufism Reoriented was discriminated against, evidenced by approval of a 66,000 sq. ft. white domed “symbol” smashed in the middle of a rural, single-family neighborhood. But what about the neighborhood rights? Issues such as compatibility, architectural design, massing, potential use, parking and circulation that were brought up before and during the Planning Commission meetings, with no resolution. Sure, Sufism Reoriented has the right to propose any design they believe in, but shouldn’t those rights be tempered with the neighborhood’s rights to continue to have a cohesive and compatible neighborhood? Does anyone really believe that a 66,000 sq. ft. mansion- church is compatible with existing 1,800 sq. ft. ranch style homes?

As said many times before, this is a land use and compatibility issue. We do not condemn Sufism Reoriented for building a church. But there is a huge difference between a true “neighborhood church” and the mega-structure being proposed. For a small congregation of only 350 people, Sufism has yet to answer why they need a building equipped to handle over 2,000 people? Why do they need to impose their symbols of faith in an obtrusive and outwardly display that negatively impacts the neighborhood? For a church that claims not to proselytize, their rigid and polarizing design elements that visually intrude upon the neighborhood seem to belie that point. Where’s the compromise? At what point does the infringement of this project on the neighborhood outweigh their rights to build whatever they want? Don’t the rights of 1,500 Saranap neighbors count for something?

This project should not be an “All or Nothing” proposal. Yet that is how the media and Sufism Reoriented have portrayed this project. Hiding behind the freedom of religion argument, Sufism proclaims that they have the right to build this overwhelming building with polarizing architecture because of their faith, and any changes requested by Saranap neighbors is because of religion bigotry. Even a simple inquiry about saving one or two of the large native Oak trees is met with fiery resistance from the applicant. Notwithstanding, there are alternatives that can provide Sufism Reoriented with a neighborhood church, albeit without the ostentatious size or massing currently proposed. The neighborhood is praying for some reasonable alternative that will allow both Sufism Reoriented and Saranap each to enjoy Boulevard Way respectively.

I hope the Board of Supervisors will review the design and compatibility issue. And maybe we will get our two way street back in our neighborhood!