Church plan in DuPage County upsets some

All places of assembly would be restricted from locating in a residential area of unincorporated DuPage County if a controversial proposal is approved.

While the proposal covers a wide range of property uses, those attending the county's zoning board of appeals hearing Thursday on the topic only cared about the restrictions that would be created for religious facilities.

The emotional and sometimes heated debate lasted three hours as the recommending board listened to more than two dozen speakers weigh in on the topic. Some complained that the proposed changes to the county's zoning laws targeted Muslims who have been trying to create worship centers throughout the county.

Zoning board member Mike Loftus, who led the hearing, called the accusations "inflammatory" and asked that those statements be stricken from the record.

"If anyone thinks this board is anti-Islamic, we do not do that," he said. "I'm not going to sit here and let you tell us this is singling out a specific religion."

The proposed changes arose from neighbor complaints about several residential properties in the process of being converted to religious facilities.

Currently, there are five such requests under scrutiny by the county. Those include three Muslim sites, a Hindu facility and a Christian development. All five of those proposals would not be impacted by the proposed legislative changes.

Others complained that removing residential areas from the list of places in the unincorporated parts of the county was too restrictive and limited potential sites to dangerous commercial and industrial areas.

"I'm not sure having families and children assembling in industrial parks is too terribly safe," Lombard resident Charles Emory said.

But zoning board members noted that this only impacted unincorporated areas of the county, not the entire county.

There are currently 79 places of assembly operating in unincorporated parts of the county. About 90 percent of those facilities are in residential areas, county zoning coordinator Paul Hoss said.

Roads, water and sewer systems in residential areas of unincorporated DuPage weren't designed to handle the increased use that comes with places of assembly, Hoss said.

Attorney Mark Daniels, who specializes in land use law, questioned the need for the zoning changes. He suggested adjusting the county's current conditional-use process instead of throwing a blanket ban on residential areas.

"The best areas of most communities have historically been around religious uses," he said. "You can't cut off your head to pop a pimple."

The zoning board will meet again to discuss the proposal Sept. 27.