New date set for Toms River Chabad hearing

A public hearing on a rabbi's controversial proposal to use his Toms River home on Church Road as a Jewish community center and school will be held on December 17 at the Toms River High School North auditorium at 7:30 p.m. to accommodate the large crowd anticipated. 

The Asbury Park Press reports the Toms River Board of Adjustment voted unanimously Thursday night to change the meeting location from town hall to the larger venue.

Chabad Jewish Center is seeking a variance that would allow it to operate from the property owned by Rabbi Moshe Gourarie at 2001 Church Road, within an existing single-family residential zone.

A petition opposing the application due to concerns about added traffic in the rural area has garnered nearly 4,000 signatures. Gourarie is being represented by attorney Christopher Costa, while Toms River lawyer Edward Liston is representing two people who live across from the property.