Mosque Back Before Town Planner, School Board Moves To This Week Due to Forum

A subject that has held public interest for more than a year — the application for a proposed 4,200-square-foot mosque on Church Street in Liberty Corner — is back on the agenda for a continued public hearing before the Bernards Township Planning Board this Tuesday night.

The applicant, the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge, approached the planning board more than a year ago, with the expressed optimism that all zoning requirements for the project could be met.

That same expectation is being expressed a year later, even following prolonged discussions on parking requirements, the maximum capacity for worship services, scheduling of services and events and more.

The proposed new 4,250-square-foot mosque would replace an existing single-family home at 124 Church St. in the Liberty Corner section of Bernards Township. The mosque is being designed with room for 142 worshippers, Adnan Khan, an engineer testifying on behalf of the ISBR, told the Planning Board in August.

Khan at that time presented plans for 70 parking spaces to initially serve members and worshippers at the proposed mosque, along with drawings for another 37 "banked" spots that would be built if the township feels are necessary to accommodate future growth.

Although the Planning Board's members and professionals questioned the applicant, the public has yet to have an opportunity to query the engineer on his testimony.

Also this week, the Bernards Township Board of Education moved its meeting to this Monday night, at 7 p.m., at the William Annin Middle School, 70 Quincy Road.

The original date of the meeting, on Monday, Oct. 14, now has been set aside as a public forum for the four Board of Education candidates seeking election to three available seats on the board this November.

Community Shred Day next Saturday

Next Saturday will provide residents with an opportunity to safely have their private documents shredded in another of Somerset County-sponsored Operation Secure Shred events — scheduled to take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. that day at the Bernards Township Engineering Services Building, 277 S. Maple Ave. in Basking Ridge.

The Somerset County Division of Consumer Protection provides free shredding events to county residents courtesy of the Somerset County Board of Chosen Freeholders, according to information on the Bernards Township website. Operation Secure Shred began in 2007 and is offered through the year at locations throughout the county. "The program is intended to provide residents a safe and easy way to dispose of bulk personal information," the website says.