Ever since Feb. 12, when council members heard a request from the Sunnyvale Hindu temple's board of directors and authorized a street name study, neighborhood residents and business owners have been voicing their opposition to changing the name of Persian Drive.

"I have a hard time understanding why the street name has to be changed," said George McConnell, a resident of Willow Ranch, a mobile home park on Morse Avenue.

McConnell attended the first of four city-sponsored public outreach meetings on Oct. 8 at the mobile home park. He acknowledged he was not aware of the temple's existence across the street until he received the city's notification about the issue and the meetings. However, when he went looking for the temple, he was able to find it, he said.

The temple, founded in 1994, is located at 450 Persian Drive between Fair Oaks and Mathilda avenues, at the intersection of Persian Drive and Morse Avenue, south of Highway 237. Temple officials, backed by the Indian community at large, filed an application on Feb. 14 requesting that the city change the name of the street—the stretch between Fair Oaks and Mathilda Avenues only—to Mandir Drive. The word mandir, which is of ancient Sanskrit origin, means "temple" in several Indian languages, temple officials explained at the council meeting on Feb. 12.

Temple officials said they had several reasons for wanting the street name changed.

Congregation and community members—from all over the Bay Area and beyond—can easily find the temple if the street is named Mandir Drive, they say. Thousands of people visit the temple throughout the year, they say.

"Everyone already knows where it is—they know how to find it," said Bruce La Fountain at the last public outreach meeting, held at the Sunnyvale Public Library on Oct. 23. La Fountain owns Spin Pro Inc., 470 Persian Dr., a business next door to the temple. Temple officials could improve their signage and make it more visible and identifiable from the freeway and major streets, he said.

"Changing the street name will directly impact my business," La Fountain said at the meeting. "I own a significant piece of property here and will make sure this does not pass."

Besides the negative impact on his business, La Fountain also feels conditions on Persian Drive are neither safe nor conducive to pedestrian traffic.

"A lot of people walk on the street to get to the temple," he said. "It's extremely unsafe—there are no sidewalks on Persian."

The overwhelming crowds at the temple cause a lot of disruption, La Fountain added. He said temple members and visitors use up nearly all of his parking spaces when their parking lot is full and are not responsible enough to clean up after everyone leaves.

"On behalf of the temple, I apologize for their behavior," Atulya Sarin said at the meeting.

Naranji Patel, president of the temple board, said after the meeting that he and other temple members have arranged to meet with La Fountain and other nearby business owners to hear their concerns.

"We want to be a good neighbor," Patel said.

Sarin—a professor of finance at Santa Clara University—said at the meeting that besides being a place of worship, the temple is also a community center, holding classes and seminars for people of all ages. Sarin said he and his family members often use the center for classes and activities. The center holds a free medical clinic at least once a week, he said.

He said the temple's desire to change the street name—the term "Persian" has an Islamic origin—is not religiously motivated, as many of the residents openly stated at the meetings.

"The intent is to expose the Indian culture to a larger body of Sunnyvale—to California," Sarin said. "This is not a religious issue."

Nagesh Mehra, a Sunnyvale resident for the past 12 years, added that this is more of a community issue than a religious one.

"The temple and cultural center are open to everyone," Mehra said. "We hold classes for everyone in the community."

In addition to being a cultural center for the Sunnyvale community, Mehra said, the temple also attracts many retail stores and businesses to the area, which is good for the city's economy.

Sarin said changing the street name would also enable temple officials to be more successful in garnering funds and resources. The city's support in this issue would help a great deal in the temple's fundraising efforts, he said at the meeting.

The Indian community comprises almost 11 percent of the Sunnyvale population, he said.

"We would like to claim our stake here," Sarin said, "and leave a legacy for our kids and grandkids."

Neighborhood residents feel differently, however.

"The city should just leave the street the way it is," said Joan Kuropat, a resident of Fulton Avenue.

Lucy Castillo, another resident of Fulton Avenue, said at the meeting that the Korean community, which has a church on Morse Avenue behind the temple, is content with the street name.

"Why should the Indian community want this change?" Castillo asked.

Temple officials stated several different reasons for their request, but many of the residents continue to feel that the reasons do not warrant the name change.

Frederick Bell, principal planner for the city, gave a presentation at each meeting about the general criteria and guidelines for a street name change study. The study usually takes several months, he said. City staff will explore issues such as the direct and indirect impact on businesses and residents, compatibility with the existing street naming system, costs, the length of the street, community diversity and historical significance, he said. Furthermore, public safety vehicles should be able to locate addresses with ease and not create conflicts, Bell added.

Several seniors who live in the neighborhoods around the temple, such as Willow Ranch, Cape Cod and Fox Hollow, have voiced their concerns at previous meetings about public safety officials not being able to find them in the case of an emergency if the street name is changed.

Bell said at the Oct. 23 meeting that temple officials have communicated to the city that they will cover costs incurred by the city if the street name is changed.

"If the city does this, it's going to open up all kinds of doors for other street name changes—and a lot of short streets," said Werner Gans, a Sunnyvale resident for the past 44 years.

Bell said that city staff are looking into different options, such as renaming a part of the street, renaming the whole street, creating a private driveway for the temple and naming the temple plaza.

The staff will present its report and recommendations to the city council on Nov. 12. Council members could either vote on the issue the same evening or continue it to a future date, according to Bell.