Thunderstorms likely. A few storms may be severe. High 89F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%..
Tonight
Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. A few storms may be severe. Low around 70F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
Cherry Hill, Evesham/Marlton, Medford, Medford Lakes, Moorestown, Mount Laurel, Voorhees and elsewhere near the iconic state highways of Routes 70 and 73.
A massive exterior redesign of a Cherry Hill Hindu temple, transforming a drab office building into an exotic place of worship with tall spires, is scheduled to go before the Cherry Hill zoning board on Thursday.
BAPS Cherry Hill's expansion, if granted, would add 18,300 square feet, including a 3,500-square-foot prayer hall, in the 47-year-old former warehouse next to King's Christian School and behind the Point of Woods neighborhood in Cherry Hill.Â
Besides a 7,000-square-foot gym, BAPS Cherry Hill also wants to add 23 parking spaces, according to the application. Permission also is sought for spires, or shikharas, as high as 58 feet, the application notes. Maximum height under zoning law is 35 feet.Â
BAPS is seeking preliminary and final major site plan approval and a use variance at the remote meeting, which begins with a caucus at 7 p.m. followed by the meeting and public hearing after.Â
The expansion would not affect the wooded wetlands that separate the temple from the neighborhood on the 11-acre property, which BAPS purchased in 2003, according to the Township review of the BAPS application to the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
"The purpose of the new facility is to replace the current aging facility which, from a maintenance perspective, has become cost prohibitive to upgrade," the nonprofit said in its application for the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir temple, which has operated at the location since 2002.
