Mosque Hearing Moved to Aug. 6

The continuing hearing on a proposed 4,250-square-foot mosque in Liberty Corner Village now is scheduled to continue at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 6, the Planning Board's next regular meeting following this Thursday's scheduled session.

A hearing date of July 25 had been set at the previous board hearing on the matter, which focused on a discussion about how many parking spaces would be required at the proposed house of worship that the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge wants to build at 124 Church St. in Liberty Corner Village.

But Planning Board Secretary Fran Florio on Tuesday said that the board's regular attorney, Jonathan Drill, is unable to attend this Thursday's meeting.

The proposal was last before the board in June, when planners and the ISBR's traffic engineer, Henry Ney, again failed to agree on the number of parking spots that would be adequate to serve a new mosque.

If the plan is approved, an existing modified ranch home at that address would be torn down, and a grey building that the ISBR's attorney, Dan Lincoln, said would fit in with the neighborhood, would be built on four acres at the location. 

"I don't want anyone to think this building is out of scale," Lincoln said at one of the previous hearings. He said previously that the "modest" sized building on four acres would look pretty much like a home, and would comply with zoning regulations.

The height of the mosque building itself, which would have a hipped roof like many of the historic structures nearby as well as the Liberty Corner firehouse across the street, would not exceed 35 feet, he testified. Two unlit minarets, spires common to mosques, also would fall under height requirements at a maximum of 38 feet in height, Lincoln said at a previous hearing.

Numerous questions have been raised about whether the mosque, since Friday afternoon services would be attended primarily by men arriving from their jobs, would attract a greater number of cars than another house of worship of the same size.