Rolling Meadows mosque unveils latest expansion plans
Two years after expansion plans for the Islamic Society of the Northwest Suburbs were rejected, leaders of the Rolling Meadows-based mosque returned to pitch their latest plans to a city panel Tuesday, though a decision was deferred until July.
After nearly three hours of testimony and questioning Tuesday night, the city's planning and zoning commission decided to postpone their decision until a meeting on July 3 in order to digest the information provided by mosque officials. The panel would make a recommendation to the city council, which would have final say.
The mosque wants to move from its one-acre site at 3950 Industrial Ave. around the corner to an eight-acre site it purchased at 1200 Hicks Road. There, it would renovate a shuttered one-story, 47,534-square-foot brick industrial building into a prayer hall and Sunday school. Future phases call for a gymnasium for youth activities and a multipurpose room.
Zubair Khan, an attorney and member of the mosque, said the new plans offer better traffic flow to and from the site compared with the old plans, after architects moved the main three-lane driveway further to the north along Hicks. He also said there's more landscaping that provides better aesthetics.
The mosque, which was established at another nearby Industrial Avenue site in 1985 before moving to its current location in 2004, is petitioning the city for a change in the zoning code that would allow religious uses as a special use in the manufacturing district, where the current and proposed mosque sites are located.
The city council rejected the mosque's previous plans on a 4-3 vote in April 2016, but Khan said they decided to come back after attempts to sell the Hicks property failed.
John Sharpe, the mosque's real estate agent who marketed the property until last year, said most manufacturing companies found the building to be functionally obsolete. A self-storage firm expressed interest but couldn't come to terms for a deal.
Khan also argued there's been recent nonindustrial businesses approved as special uses by the council in recent years, including a dance studio, tattoo parlor, and doctor's office. And, he added, there are two churches less than a mile away.
"I'm not saying a dance studio is exactly like a mosque, but it shows that the people of Rolling Meadows, through their representatives, have determined some flexibility is permissible," Khan said.
Mark Wilson, who operates a trucking site at 1100 Hicks, told the commission Tuesday that he wants the area retained as a manufacturing site to retain neighboring property values.
Resident Tom Curtis supported the mosque's expansion. "I'm in support of these folks because I believe in diversity," he said.
If approved, the new mosque could open by 2021.