A group of Oak Park residents who oppose the expansion of Chabad of Oak Park, a synagogue inside a residence on Conifer Street, convinced the Oak Park School Board to postpone an agreement that would allow congregants to continue parking at the school district office on weekends and during holidays.

The Chabad rents 28 parking spaces from the school district.

Jeri Fox spoke to board members on behalf of the Medea Creek Neighborhood Alliance, a group of homeowners who live near the residential home that is used for religious services and special events every Saturday and during Jewish holidays.

Fox accused the Chabad of using more than their contractual allotment of parking spaces at the district office, especially during holiday events.

In May, the Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council recommended to the Ventura County Planning Commission that the Chabad’s permit be approved for 10 years rather than the 20 that Chabad had requested. The Chabad also asked to increase its occupancy from 70 people to 145, but the MAC recommended a maximum capacity of 127 for Sabbath services. The council approved an increase in capacity on Fridays from 10 to 40 people.

Fox said the increased number of congregants will lead to a parking overflow that will clog the local streets.

The Chabad is charged $38 to use the 28 parking spaces for four hours. Fox called the fee “ridiculously low” compared to what other school districts charge.

Fox said her group wants the school district to issue a separate schedule of fees for Chabad and asked the school board to consider raising rates for the weekend parking at the district office.

She suggested the Chabad rent parking spaces in the commercial buildings in the Oak Park Shopping Center.

Fox also asked that the parking contract be for one year, not 10. She said that a yearly contract would ensure that the district will have recourse if the Chabad violates the agreement. And she wants the district to include an addendum to the contract that will outline consequences for violations, including “the maximum penalty of cancellation of the contract.”

Board member Jan Iceland said that the people who live by a school or a ball field should assume there will be times of increased traffic.

But one member of Fox’s alliance said there’s a difference in parking use between sports teams and Chabad members. Sports groups sign facility agreements that bring in revenue and contribute to the district’s maintenance costs, versus “parking only” groups such as the Chabad.

In the Chabad’s defense, Superintendent Tony Knight said churches in the area, including the Church of the Epiphany near Oak Hills Elementary and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints next to Medea Creek Middle School, don’t charge the school district fees when parents park on church property during school events.

Martin Klauss, assistant superintendent of business and administrative services, said the issue isn’t the parking at the district office, “the issue is parking in the street.”

No one from Chabad of Oak Park attended the school board meeting, but in a subsequent interview Rabbi Yisroel Levine said the Chabad has been a “good neighbor.”

Levine said the Chabad received complaints about parking three years ago and tried to ensure that the residents in the neighborhood would not be disturbed.

“It’s gone beyond just working with the Chabad to live peacefully in the neighborhood,” Levine said. “I think it’s a personal agenda.”

Levine said families living closest to the Chabad “see the compliance week after week.”

He said the Chabad is “satisfied” with the MAC’s recommendations to the planning commission.

Levine said the Chabad will only need 14 parking spaces if the county does not approve the increase in congregants.

The school board delayed a decision on whether it should impose a separate—and higher—fee structure for Chabad of Oak Park parking. The decision will be discussed at the next board meeting later this month.