DuPage mosque edges toward county approval

Supporters of a proposed a mosque in southeast DuPage County are one vote away from seeing the project begin construction.

The DuPage County Board's development committee on Tuesday voted 4-1 to recommend approval of Muslim Educational and Cultural Center of America's plans for a mosque along 91st Street near Willowbrook.

Now it's up to the full county board to decide next week whether the required conditional-use permit should be granted.

“We're happy that the development committee has again recognized the value of the project,” said Mark Daniel, MECCA's attorney, referring to the fact the development panel last month approved a different version of the plans. “Hopefully the remaining 12 members of the county board acknowledge that.”

County board members never took a final vote on the earlier proposal. But they did vote 15-2 to deny MECCA's request for a height variance.

Then MECCA representatives agreed to downsize the project because of concerns about traffic and the size of the proposed structure.

If built, the mosque will be about 47,000 square feet, roughly 10,000 square feet smaller than originally designed. While a multipurpose room has been removed from the plans, the structure still would include a weekend school and a gymnasium.

County board member Tony Michelassi, who is chairman of the development committee, said the scaled-down plans — along with a list of conditions that would be imposed on the site — represent “our best effort” to address the concerns raised by neighbors opposed to the project.

MECCA, for example, wouldn't be able to have more than 597 people on the property. There also would be restrictions on when non-worship activities could take place.

Because of the conditions, Michelassi said he doesn't believe the traffic impact on 91st Street will be “as tremendous as some may fear.”

A traffic consultant hired by MECCA has said surrounding roads, including Route 83, wouldn't be greatly affected by people attending the mosque's five daily prayers.

County board member Brian Krajewski disagrees. He said he cast the only “no” vote on Tuesday because he believes the mosque would create too much traffic on 91st Street.

“It's a nice facility,” Krajewski said of the proposed mosque. “It's just in the wrong spot.”

Krajewski said traffic wouldn't be a big concern if the mosque was constructed along a two-lane highway that averages 50,000 cars a day.

“But when you take a road that's one-lane each way with no sidewalks — and you start adding potentially a couple thousand cars a day — it's an issue,” he said.

At Tuesday's meeting, a number of people voiced support for the mosque while others expressed concern. Some of the residents opposing the project said they're worried about the possible negative impacts on their neighborhood.