DuPage Co. delays Muslim center vote
Planners and neighbors of a proposed Muslim learning center between Naperville and Lisle will have to wait at least another two weeks for a decision from the county on the plan.
The request for a conditional use permit for the Irshad Learning Center, on unincorporated land east of Naper Boulevard on the north side of 75th Street, was tabled Tuesday by the DuPage County Board after the state's attorney raised a red flag on a couple of details in the plan.
The proposal, initially put forth last year, was twice turned down unanimously by the Zoning Board of Appeals. It was then approved, with a collection of conditions attached, in a 5-0 vote by the board's Development Committee last week.
According to committee chairman Tony Michelassi, District 5 representative from Aurora, the legal counsel wants any permit issued by the county to specify that the center would be allowed to use only the structures that already exist on the three-acre parcel. Without that limitation spelled out, the center could add on as it wishes.
"They wouldn't have to approach ZBA or Development at all if they wanted to expand the structures on the property," Michelassi said.
Following the letter of county law isn't a bad idea as far as the applicant's attorney is concerned, either.
Scott Day, a partner in the downtown Naperville firm Day & Robert, PC, said he is working on a landscape plan that will reflect conditions recommended by John Zediker of Naperville, who also represents District 5 on the board. Among the amended items was inclusion of evergreens in the landscape screen that will shield the view of the center for the neighbors on Hunter Circle, just west of the site.
"There's some indication that the county's attorney has rewritten some of the conditions," Day added. "We have some i's to dot and t's to cross before we're ready to go before the board."
He said he is also circulating site plans, including a layout of an expanded parking lot, to ensure that all codes are met and the neighbors have a thorough understanding of how the development would look.
Dan Wallace, who has spoken to county officials on behalf of the adjacent homeowners, was cautious in discussing the modified proposal that came out of last week's Development Committee meeting.
"I think movement toward compromise is good if compromise results in both parties' needs being met," he said.
The residents were troubled, Wallace said, when Zediker's suggestion to enforce a 27-space limit on parking spaces was almost immediately rejected by the Irshad representatives, who agree they will need more slots when the 100-worshipper maximum is using the property. The revision will show about 39 spaces.
"That produced a certain amount of eye-rolling on our part, because that's what we've been saying since last March," Wallace said.
Beyond that, he said he will reserve comment until he has had a chance to see the revised plan, possibly in a gathering of applicants, County Board members, attorneys and Irshad representatives between now and the anticipated decision from the county.
"I think having a limit put on the number of parking spaces addresses one of the neighborhood's concerns," he said.
The County Board's next meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Nov. 10 on the third floor of the Jack T. Knuepfer Administration Building, 421 County Farm Road, Wheaton.
