US Judge Rules Against Basking Ridge's Parking Requirement For Islamic Mosque

BASKING RIDGE, NJ -- United States District Judge Michael Shipp made a partial ruling on New Year's Eve that Bernards Township Planning Board was unfair in their demands for a higher amount of parking spaces for the proposed Islamic mosque slated to be built on Church Street.

“The Court has held that Bernards Township discriminated against ISBR based on its Islamic faith and that the Township’s actions were unconstitutional. This ruling resolves the key disputed land use issues in the case because many of the Township’s bases for denial depended on its requirement of a supersized parking lot. This is a landmark ruling interpreting the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act that will have national impact in reaffirming that Townships cannot treat applicants differently based on their religion," Adeel Mangi, lead counsel for plaintiffs wrote to Patch.

The planning unanimously voted down an application to build a 4,250-square-foot Islamic mosque in the historic section of the township, Liberty Corner, in December 2015 for a number of reasons including parking.

As a result, the ISBR filed a lawsuit against the Bernards Township and 15 individuals on the township committee and planning board in March claiming the denial of their application was due to a culmination of anti-Islamic attitudes in the community.

The township has continued to deny these claims and stands behind the reasons given by the planning board at the initial ruling which included:

• Not providing a satisfactory buffer between the project and residential properties;
• Problems with the internal circulation of the site, such as width of parking spaces and how drivers were to manuveur around the parking lot;
• Having a non-compliant storm water plan;
• And having insufficient access for fire and emergency vehicles.

The New Jersey Department of Justice has also since filed a lawsuit this past November 2016 alleging discrimination by the planning board.

(Image via Shutterstock)

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