Mosque Hearing Ends Without A Vote

The hearing on an application to open the Borough's first mosque came to a close Thursday, though the Planning Board didn't take a vote.

Given that only five Planning Board members were in attendance, some of whom hadn't read every transcript of the application, which stretches back to September, Board Attorney John Ten Hoeve recommended that the Board take some time to look over the details of the case before voting.

At the meeting, the Board continued to hear from traffic engineer Hal Simoff, who concluded that the amount of parking at 28 Farview Terrace, 32 spaces, was inadequate for a house of worship. Based partly on observations at mosques in Teaneck and Boonton, Simoff concluded that the proposed mosque would require more than 100 spaces.

"The variance requested for parking is just too significant to justify an approval," he said.

Simoff testified for Selma and Stanley Mitchel of on 22 Madison Avenue. Their building shares part of a border with the proposed mosque site, and the Mitchels object to the application over worries that spillover parking will end up on their lot.

The Planning Board also heard from a group of more than a dozen supporters of the proposed mosque, many of whom were Paramus residents. Azka Mohyuddin, a Prospect Street resident, said many Muslims already worshiped at the nearby without creating a parking problem.

The El-Zahra Foundation, the sponsor of the proposed mosque, has a lease agreement with the VFW to use their parking lot if the Farview Terrace lot isn't sufficient.

Ray Griffith, a Farview Terrace resident, expressed his concern that the traffic generated by a mosque would exacerbate conditions on an already congested street. Griffith also worries that worshipers will occupy all the street parking on Farview Terrace, making it difficult for him to have guests over.

The Planning Board will have three weeks to decide before deliberations at its July 7 meeting.