The Islamic Society of Basking Ridge says it should be held to the same standards as any other religious group looking to build a house of worship in town. But a memo from Bernards Township officials says that way of thinking is “misguided.”
The Islamic Society hopes to build a 4,250-square-foot mosque in place of a 1950s-style ranch currently situated on a 4.3-acre property at 124 Church St.
As part of its plan, the society proposes building 50 parking spaces for the mosque, which its lawyer says is the adequate amount under the town ordinance specifying off-street parking requirements for churches.
The town’s parking ordinance suggests one parking space should suffice for every three seats in a church, but it does not specify parking standards for other religious institutions.
So the town is now asking the Islamic Society to build 110 parking spaces for the mosque.
The planning board says it has a right to determine on a case-by-case basis what the proper standards are for adequate parking for buildings around town, and that mosques specifically draw very different traffic patterns than churches, and should be guided by separate statistics.
In a Jan. 3 memo to the planning board, board attorney Jonathan Drill and board planner David Banisch suggest, “while a mosque use is similar to a church use in that both are houses of worship, there are differences between them in terms of parking generation as evidenced by the data reported” in the fourth edition Institute of Transportation Engineers’ “Parking Generation” manual, which was updated in 2010 to address parking standards specifically for mosques and synagogues.
“Churches should no longer apply to synagogues and mosques, each of which generates its own distinctive traffic patters and numbers so each of which should now have its own distinctive parking requirements,” the memo states, quoting the ITE guide.
The attorney for the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge previously accused the planning board of ignoring its own zoning ordinance and is “making it up as they go along” when it comes to approving parking requirements in its application.
“I am shocked that they are not using the standards set forth in the (town) ordinance,” said Vincent T. Bisogno, attorney for the mosque, who says the mosque should be held to the same standards as churches.
With an anticipated congregation of 150, Bisogno said, the mosque should be required to provide 50 spaces.
In the memo sent to the planning board days before the body’s last hearing, Drill and Banisch make the case that the parking guidelines listed in the ordinance should not be read as a requirement, but should be identified as a standard to be considered by the board in the course of a hearing or application for development.
The memo also states the Islamic Society’s notion that mosques should be held to the same parking standard as churches is “misguided” and “misses the point of the ordinance.”
It also says Bisogno is misinterpreting the ordinance for a hard-and-fast rule, when it should be read as a suggestion.
The memo also suggests the Islamic Society would benefit from doing a more detailed local study on mosques and parking and traffic trends. “Currently, ISBR’s site plan reflects 50 off-street parking spaces, less than half the number we believe to be required,” the memo reads. “Unless ISBR revises the site plan to provide for 110 parking spaces, it is our opinion that ISBR will need to apply for a ‘c’ variance to allow this substantial deviation from the off-street parking requirement.”
Imam Hamad Ahmad Chebli, director of the Islamic Society of Central Jersey in South Brunswick, said his mosque only holds festivals that draw crowds exceeding 10 to 15 individuals about twice a year — and when that happens, the mosque prepares by hiring an outside bus service or encouraging worshipers to carpool.
“We try to rent nearby parking lots, or we have a big mall nearby, so sometimes we use it with the permission of the owner,” he said Friday. “During Ramadan, we encourage family to come as carpooling, because we spend two hours in that building. Why would we need five cars to travel to bring three people?”
For weeknight prayers, the mosque setup two shifts on Friday nights to prevent overcrowding. “Instead of praying once, we pray two times, and we tell people to leave after the first shift,” he said.
Generally, though, he said most people are tired after work, that despite having a large congregation, usually only 10 to 15 people show up for prayers.