Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
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Two sides of Persian Drive meet amicably, discuss issue Homeowners and temple members start a friendly, productive dialogue (By Jana Seshadri) "We found that we were just nine very nice people," said Laina Moffitt, president of the Fox Hollow Homeowners Association, after a private meeting with members of the Sunnyvale Hindu Temple on May 13. Four representatives from the Fox Hollow Mobile Home Park met with five members of the Sunnyvale Hindu Temple in Moffitt's house to have a dialogue about the Persian Drive street name change, which is currently under study by the city. Officials of the Sunnyvale Hindu Temple, first established in 1994 and situated on Persian Drive, submitted an application to the council requesting that the city change the name of the street to Mandir Drive. The word "Mandir," which is of ancient Sanskrit origin, means "temple" in several Indian languages, the officials explained at the council meeting on Feb. 12. The issue has been the subject of controversy ever since. "We don't want the street name changed," several residents said at the Willow Ranch Mobile Home Park/city council outreach meeting on May 4. When Mayor Fred Fowler asked neighborhood residents at the meeting suggestions about how to approach the issue the "right" way, they yelled, "Leave it alone." Residents from Willow Ranch, Fox Hollow and Cape Cod Mobile Home parks were present at the meeting, although representatives from the temple were not invited. However, Fowler and other council members who attended the meeting suggested that the residents of the three mobile home parks in the area meet with the temple officials and talk with them. Moffitt said that she initiated the move "to have a few people over from the other side to let them know that we are also like them, with strong opinions." Moffitt added, "It was a very sociable meeting - with good conversation, coffee and cookies." The first and foremost question that they asked was why the temple officials want to change the name of the street, Moffitt said. Other communities from different countries have found their place in Sunnyvale and in the greater Bay Area, said Naranji Patel, president of the temple, referring to Chinatown and Japantown. "We would like to establish our footprint here," Patel said. Among Sunnyvale residents, 11 percent are Indian and 34 percent of the city's tax revenues comes from Indians, he said. Residents of Indian origin also represent the highest income bracket and the lowest crime bracket, he said. Patel said that temple officials and the Indian community are interested in only a portion of the street name being changed, which would be the stretch of Persian Drive from Fair Oaks Avenue to Morse Avenue. A few businesses, most of them owned by Indians, would have to change their addresses as a result of that, he said. Residents' addresses would not be affected, he said. At the May 4 meeting there were suggestions of religious intolerance by some residents, who speculated that the Indian community would like to change the name because of its Iranian, and therefore Islamic, origin. "This is not at all religiously motivated," Patel said. "Our intention was not to hurt anybody." Although the temple is a place for religious activities and worship for Hindus in the area, Patel explained that 90 percent of their programs are community-oriented. The facility is used for conducting yoga and health care classes for seniors, programs for children and community events, he said. "If our neighbors in the mobile parks ever want to have a function, they are more than welcome to have it at the temple," Patel said. Patel admitted that the controversy and misunderstanding could have been avoided if temple officials had discussed the street name change first with their neighbors before approaching the city council with it. Moffitt said she is happy she arranged the meeting. "All of us left with a very positive attitude and a much better understanding of the other side," Moffitt said. The next step is for each side to accept whatever the result of the study is, she said. "Whatever the outcome is, so be it," Moffitt said. |
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