Will County gives initial OK to mosque plan
BY JON SEIDEL jseidel@suntimes.com February 16, 2012 5:51PM
The site of a proposed mosque in the 9700 block of Carls Drive outside Aurora. | Matthew Grotto~Sun-Times Media
different center, similar problems
The Islamic Center of Naperville won a fight to annex 14 acres into Naperville. The property on 248th Avenue just south of 95th Street is close to the site of the proposed Will County mosque.
When the potential purchase and annexation were being discussed in the fall, signs were posted on Route 59 and 248th Avenue in Naperville and Plainfield that read “Vote no to the Mosque on 248.” Other signs included slurs for Muslims.
Like the Will County site, the 248th Avenue property has a home on it, and the rest of the property is farmland. The group would use the house, then seek an OK to build a religious facility.
Neighbors opposed the plan in the fall, with some saying it would hurt property values, but the Naperville City Council approved the annexation in December. The group will still need approval before building.
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Updated: March 18, 2012 8:18AM
A mosque and Islamic studies center could open in a rural area despite the nearby Aurora’s written protest and complaints from several neighbors it would aggravate flooding and traffic problems.
It’s the latest proposal for an Islamic worship center in Will and DuPage counties that neighbors have tried to block in recent years. And while the man who wants to open the mosque pleaded for his religious freedom Thursday, his critics focused their complaints entirely on technical issues.
“Faiths have nothing to do with this,” said Joseph Reed, an opponent who would live down the road.
Reed and his neighbors Thursday asked the Will County Board not to give permission to Salahuddin Razi and Ashfaq and Khatija Maqsood to open a “house of worship and religious studies center” that would include a small mosque at 9727 S. Carls Drive.
The property is in an unincorporated area near Aurora, Plainfield and Naperville.
The board granted Razi’s request in a 15-10 vote in spite of those protests. Razi said he still has permits to collect and studies to perform, and his attorney admitted the development might wind up costing too much money.
But they said they need the board’s approval Thursday to find out.
Razi said he wants to renovate a 1,500-square-foot home and 2,000-square-foot barn on the five-acre property, which they own, for use by an Islamic community of 50 to 100 people. County documents say there would be study and worship there three times a day, six days a week, with four sessions on Fridays.
“We want to provide a tranquil place to communicate, cooperate and benefit each other,” Razi said.
But the idea prompted Aurora to send the county a resolution signed by its mayor and city council arguing the worship center is “not consistent with the city’s adopted comprehensive plan.”
The neighborhood they’ve chosen is a low-density residential area, Aurora officials said, and the mosque backers haven’t given enough information to the city to consider the safety needs of a parcel less than two miles outside its borders.
Meanwhile, Reed and his neighbors said the mosque would exacerbate existing trouble with standing water and a dangerous diagonal intersection of Carls Drive and Wolf’s Crossing Road nearby.
Edward Hyatt, a former owner of the proposed mosque property, said in a letter to the county it’s not unusual for a third of the parcel to be covered in water. He also said the mosque could damage the “peace and enjoyment” of the neighborhood’s residents.
“I moved to the property for the quiet nature and lack of congestion in the area,” Hyatt wrote.
Several board members cited the same flooding, traffic and septic problems while explaining why they’d vote against the mosque. But Majority Leader Jim Bilotta, R-Lockport, said county law will force Razi to eventually tackle those problems — or give up on his dream.
“It’s going to be so expensive for them to develop this parcel, they’ll probably say no,” Bilotta said before voting in favor of the proposal.
The area is represented on the board by Republicans Ann Dralle of Lemont, Suzanne Hart of Naperville and Laurie McPhillips of Plainfield. Among them, only Hart voted against it.
Afterward, Razi said he hopes to open the center within a year.
“We can be very good neighbors,” Razi said. “Give us a chance.”
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