Orange County, Florida, has rejected a proposal for a 33,000-square-foot Hindu temple.
According to WESH, members of the BAPS Hindu congregation in Orlando were hoping to build the temple on an eight-acre plot of land in Gotha.
The congregation has a temple in Orlando near West Oak Ridge Road and South Orange Blossom Trail but is looking to expand as temple attendance increases. The proposed temple would have had 800 seats and 300 parking spots.
“We still need a home here in Orlando, and we’re not going to give up just because of this one disappointment we had today,” Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt, a volunteer and devotee, told FOX 35 Orlando.
Last July, Orange County Board of Zoning Adjustment argued that the temple would have been the biggest building in Gotha, out of line with the town’s developmental plans. Many Gotha residents agreed, FOX 35 reports.
Brahmbhatt says the concerns of the Gotha community are understandable.
“I think a lot of the points brought up against of us making our home there were mostly about the unknowns. Exactly what we do. How we practice our faith,” he told WESH.
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