The Township Committee voted Tuesday night during a joint meeting to accept proposed settlements in a pair of lawsuits over its rejection of a proposed mosque in the Liberty Corner section of the township.
Following a 50-minute executive session with the Planning Board, the committee voted 4 to 1 to accept the settlement terms in two federal lawsuits filedagainst the township - one by the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge and the other by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The planing board voted 6 to 1 to accept the Islamic Society settlement and 5 to 2 to accept the Department of Justice settlement.
Both lawsuits alleged that the denial of the mosque was an act of discrimination.
Terms of the two settlements were not released. Mayor Carolyn Gaziano said the details of the settlement can’t be made public until they have been finalized, which “may be in a matter of a few days.”
The mayor said she understands the frustration of residents who want to know the terms of the settlement “but this is what we’re required to do under federal law.”
Islamic Society of Basking Ridge president and former township mayor Mohammed Ali Chaudry, who attended the meeting, said he couldn’t comment on the vote on the advice of his attorney.
The settlement could be costly. In 2014, Bridgewater Township paid $7.75 million to settlea lawsuit filed by The Al Falah Center when it was denied permission to build a mosque on Mountaintop Road.
Approximately 70 residents attended the meeting at the township municipal building. Nearly two dozen spoke during the public portion of the meeting, all but two imploring the committee not to settle.
“I think we should still fight,” said Nick Xu of Basking Ridge after the vote was taken. “We can’t give up. I have written a letter to the President (Donald Trump) and (Attorney General Jeff) Sessions.
“The former mayor knows that property isn’t suitable for a mosque, but he wants to make a million dollars. Cases like this are everywhere. This is a systematic plot. This is blackmail.”
The settlement brings to an end the nearly four-year saga. During a May 10 meeting, many residents said the rejection of the application had everything to do with location - the proposed mosque would be built in a residential neighborhood - and nothing to do with prejudice against Muslims.
“I’m very much in support of the settlement,” said Dr. Yasmine Khalli of Basking Ridge, a member of the Islamic Society. “I think it’s time for our town to move on and heal. I think it’s time to build a bridge between neighbors and work together as a whole community.”
On New Year’s Eve, a federal judge ruled thatBernards Township’s insistence that a proposed mosque have more parking spaces than churches or synagogueswas unconstitutional. It was a turning point in the long-running stalemate.
The proposed mosque, which faced intense neighborhood opposition, went through 39 planning board meetingsbefore being rejected in December of 2015. The founders of the mosque then sued, claiming the township’s requirement of a “supersized” parking lot was an example of religious discrimination.
The Islamic Society of Basking Ridge wants to build a 4,252-square-foot mosque at 124 Church St. on a 4.3 acre property between two homes. The mosque was planned to have a 1,954-square-foot prayer hall that, according to the lawsuit, met zoning requirements, but was denied by the township.
The Islamic Society, which purchased the property for $750,000, argued in the lawsuit, which is more than 100 pages in length, that the planning board’s denial was illegal.