Fine compromise on DuPage mosques, churches

By The Daily Herald Editorial Board

Following months of wrangling, packed meetings and heated rhetoric, DuPage County Board members finally seem to have hit upon a good approach to handling requests for church and mosque construction in unincorporated areas.

Board members should drop a controversial ban on new places of worship in unincorporated residential areas. They should instead follow the middle-ground path of working with both neighbors and religious groups to create a series of amendments that set parameters for parking, traffic, density and other specific concerns.

County officials have been hearing for months from upset neighbors worried about traffic congestion and other problems that could beset them should several mosques be approved as proposed. Conversely, they also have been hearing from Muslim and other religious leaders questioning whether people of the Muslim faith are being targeted for persecution.

County officials have five proposals before them from Muslim groups and expect two more from other religions in the coming months. Unfortunately, the existing proposals will not be handled with this new approach because they already are in the pipeline. Whether new proposals for worship buildings are perceived to have been handled in evenhanded fashion will be the true test of this middle-ground resolution.

As Daily Herald Staff Writer Robert Sanchez reported Wednesday, board member Grant Eckhoff is suggesting the county zoning board drop its review of a ban on new facilities. Instead, he suggests specific amendments that set requirements for building size, parking spaces, density and other concerns. Religious institutions could be required to plan for one parking space for every two seats in the worship space rather than the current four seats. County officials also could set restrictions on the height and breadth of buildings as well as the roads, sewers and water systems required to support them.

This middle ground might not satisfy all of those concerned on either side. Amy Lawless Ayala, a representative of the local civic and religious coalition DuPage United, told Sanchez she believes the specific amendment changes being discussed still could have the effect of making it too tough for congregations to build. The people who live in unincorporated areas, though, do have legitimate concerns about the effects of big worship centers rising in their communities.

But compromises like those Eckhoff suggested can accommodate religious expression and protect neighborhoods. We urge county zoning and board members to call all concerned together to work out amendments that are as close to reasonable for all as possible.

The end result ought to be some guidelines and revised proposals for mosques and church buildings that can be approved and can meet with approval from affected residents.