Mosque won't sue Rolling Meadows after city denies move
Leaders of the Islamic Society of the Northwest Suburbs said they have no plans to sue Rolling Meadows after the city council denied a request to move to a larger location in town.
Abdul Javid, director of the mosque's board, said the group met Wednesday to discuss its options and "unanimously expressed displeasure and disappointment about the decision."
"We acknowledged the support the city has given to ISNS for so many years and we are not thinking of any legal action nor contemplating approaching the Department of Justice," Javid said. "We will find ways to stay in our current location working with the city."
The mosque, which has been at 1850 Industrial Drive in Rolling Meadows for 30 years, wanted to move to an adjacent property at 1200 Hicks Road. The move required a special-use permit from the city because the site is in a manufacturing zone where places of worship are not allowed.
Representatives of the mosque contended that the city has issued special use permits for other types of businesses in the manufacturing zone, but the city council on Tuesday rejected the request by a 4-3 vote.
Community Development Director Valerie Dehner said the city does not track its vacancy rate in the manufacturing district but said 16 percent of the city's land is zoned for manufacturing. Other uses that have been approved in manufacturing zones include doctor's offices and dance studios.
Aldermen remained largely silent on the mosque issue Tuesday in the face of a council chamber full of mosque supporters.
ISNS was under contract to buy the 1200 Hicks Road property contingent on the city council's approval and had been fundraising for several years to buy the building.
The mosque is leasing, and will continue to lease, the parking lot on the Hicks Road property to alleviate crowding issues from its growing membership. That extra parking was a condition of the city's approval for ISNS in its current location, but Javid said he worries about problems in four years when the lease expires.
If another entity wants to buy the property, the mosque will not have enough parking to stay at its current home, Javid said.
Javid hopes the mosque will be able to fix its space issues and stay on Industrial Drive for years to come, though officials will have to think creatively to accommodate up to 400 members for prayer services and the many other activities that take place there.
"We greatly appreciate the hundreds of Rolling Meadows residents and ISNS Interfaith partners who left no stone unturned," he said. "I am sure they are as deeply disappointed as we are."