Islamic school in Lombard gets OK to grow

Despite neighbors' concerns about traffic, a private Islamic school in Lombard will proceed with expansion plans.

The village board gave unanimous approval to the College Preparatory School of America on Thursday.

The $7.5 million project will bring in a new 61,000-square-foot building to the school at 331 Madison St. to serve junior high and high school students.

Although neighbors have said they don't want to see the school leave the area, they aren't happy that an expanded campus may bring in more cars to an already traffic-heavy area.

The village has required that the school stagger its start times with Madison School on the same street, but neighbor Jerzy Debowski said he doesn't think that'll make a difference.

"The traffic on Madison has just been a problem," neighbor Peter McNamara said.

Village trustees suggested that the village look at the traffic issues on Madison, perhaps decreasing the speed limit or adding a stop sign, but said the school's traffic study addressed the potential traffic problems in the area.

Daniel Smothers presented the board with a petition signed by neighbors who didn't want to see an expansion of the school.

"One of our big concerns is that this is being decided with political correctness in mind," he said. "No one that I've heard suggested that CPSA close its doors."

Smothers said pandering to a minority when the majority is opposed to the project is racism in his mind.

"Why on earth would you allow them to expand on such a small location?" he said.

But school officials said the plans fit into most Lombard zoning regulations, and only a small variance was necessary to make the project completely compliant.

"CPSA is proud of this plan," attorney Andrew Draus said. "They're proud to be part of Lombard."

Trustee William Ware, who represents the district with the school, said the plan commission and village board took traffic concerns into consideration when discussing the expansion plans.

He said the cap on student enrollment, coupled with the staggered start times and the school's traffic study, should leave neighbors satisfied after the expansion.

School: Board presented with petition opposing school's expansion

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=301111">Neighbors ready to protest expansion of Lombard school <span class="date">[06/17/09]</span></a></li> </ul> <ul class="moreWeb"> <li><a href="http://www.cpsaonline.com/school-expansion-project">Expansion project details on school Web site</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>