Residents draw the line over new religious marker
Jewish 'eruv' welcome to some, but not to others
By Sophia Fischer sfischer@theacorn.com
Fishing line recently installed above streets in Agoura Hills, Oak Park and part of Westlake Village is intended to enhance the Sabbath for local Orthodox Jews.

BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers HIGH WIRE ACT--Tom Hughes points out the Jewish eruv at the top of a light pole on Lindero Canyon Road and Dumaine Avenue.

But some other residents are unhappy with the nylon filament that crisscrosses about three square miles of the community.

During the Sabbath, from sundown Friday night to sunset Saturday, Orthodox law forbids Jews to carry anything outside the confines of their homes. The clear filament, fastened at telephone-line height to light poles and fences and attached to hillsides, forms a symbolically enclosed area known in Hebrew as an "eruv."

Inside the perimeter during the Sabbath, observant Jews cannot drive cars, but instead must walk and push strollers or wheelchairs while going from place to place, according to Tom Block, a Chabad member and eruv organizer.

"It's a huge blessing for Jews," Block said. "It's a nice thing for the community to have and will make our property values go up."

BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers STRETCHED THIN--An alternative route for the controversial Oak Park wire is being considered. In the meantime, a committee is forming to consider an eruv for Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks.

Others, like Tom Hughes, president of the Morrison Estate Owners Association in Oak Park's Sutton Valley, oppose the high wire. Hughes said he thinks the lines are a hazard. He recently noticed one had snapped and was hanging across the sidewalk and into the street at Lindero Canyon and Kanan roads. He stopped his car to pull the line off the street and tie it to a bush.

"If these lines go down in the road and somebody is injured--a motorcyclist or bicyclist--they can sue us (the homeowners' association)," Hughes said. "These lines are a major hazard."

He also called them tacky, pointing out one line that zigzagged across Lindero Canyon Road.

Three red-tailed hawks in the area were said to be dead or injured after flying into the wire.

"They had broken wings, which is consistent with flying into wires," said Linda Parks, the Ventura County supervisor who oversees Oak Park.

Block said the eruv will be rerouted in areas where neighbors are upset.

"We will figure out a route that is less obtrusive," Block said. "We want to be good neighbors."

Eruv organizers spent three years raising funds to pay more than $30,000 for the project. They obtained permission for the installation from Southern California Edison Co. and the cities of Agoura Hills and Westlake Village. An outside contractor handled placement of the lines.

For Oak Park, an unincorporated area of Ventura County, a permit was issued by the county transportation department without public review, according to Parks.

Oak Park residents said they didn't know about the eruv until it was already in place.

Parks also said she wasn't aware of the eruv until she began receiving calls from concerned residents. She plans to address the issue at the Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council meeting at 7 p.m. Tues., Jan. 23 in room G-9 at Oak Park High School.

Southern California Edison reportedly gave its permission for the lines to be attached to light poles in Agoura Hills, but not in Oak Park, Parks said.

"Hopefully, there are some options available so that we can work this out," she said.

In some areas, pole extensions were installed to keep the wire up.

Although Agoura Hills gave permission for the eruv to be installed, at least three violations of the rules for attachment have been reported since the lines were put up, according to city engineer Ken Berkman.

The installer was contacted to rectify the problems and at least one line already has been removed.

Eruvs have been installed in areas of Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, Long Beach and Hollywood. One was recently approved for Venice.

In the Conejo Valley, there are about 200 active members of Chabad's two locations on Canwood Street in Agoura Hills and Conifer Street in Oak Park, but hundreds more come sporadically, said Rabbi Moshe Bryski, Chabad executive director. A committee is forming to create an eruv for Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks, Bryski said.

"We love our area and want people to be happy," Block said. "We will figure out an alternative route."