FAITH

Bernards Township agrees to build mosque, will pay $3.25M settlement

Mike Deak
Courier News and Home News Tribune
A rendering of the proposed mosque for the Liberty Corner section of Bernards.

BERNARDS - In what the township calls "the best possible outcome," Bernards will pay the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge $3.25 million to settle its federal lawsuit and allow a mosque to be built at its original proposed location on Church Street.

Under the terms of  the settlement released Tuesday, the township has also agreed to train within 180 days all current and future members of its planning board and township committee in diversity and inclusion, with an emphasis on Islam and Muslims.

The lawsuit was filed after the planning board, following 39 public hearings over four years, denied the application to build the mosque in December 2015. The federal Department of Justice later joined the suit as a plaintiff with the mosque.

The congregation "bent over backwards" to meet the board's demands, only to be met with more conditions, according to the lawsuit.

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READ: 'Substantial progress' reported in resolving Bernards mosque

READ: Mosque gains key victory in lawsuit against Bernards

The Islamic Society of Baking Ridge (ISBR) has agreed to reduce the number of parking spots from 107 to 50. The mosque has also agreed to an occupancy limit of 150 and that no parking will be allowed in front of the Liberty Corner Firehouse. The planning board will hold a public hearing to review changes in the site plan.

The mosque has also agreed that there will be no external speakers on the building and no external amplification of the Muslim call for prayer. The mosque's two minarets will have only ornamental lighting

"We are very pleased by this resolution and hope to receive prompt approval to build our mosque," said Ali Chaudry, president of the mosque and a former township mayor.

"We look forward to welcoming people of all faiths and backgrounds to our mosque. Our doors will be open to anyone interested in building bridges to promote harmony in the community and peace in the world."

The $3.25 million settlement is $1.5 million in damages and $1.75 million in legal expenses. Patterson Belknap, the mosque's attorneys, will donate all of its attorney fees to a variety of charitiable causes.

"Municipalities around the country should pay close attention to what happened in Bernards Township," said Adeel A. Mangi, lead counsel for the mosque.

"The American Muslim community has the legal resources, the allies and the determination to stand up for its constitutional rights in court and will do so."

The settlement, the township said in a statement, "represents the most effective path forward to mitigate the financial risk of protracted litigation as well as resolve the issue of the ISBR's proposed house of worship."

The township also said that the $3.25 million will be paid by the township's insurers.

The township said that Bernards remains a "united township where all are welcome … opinions may still be varied, but it is in the best interest of the township to settle the litigation."

The township maintains that it still "vehemently disagrees" with federal Judge Michael Shipp's Dec. 31, 2016 decision that the township had discriminated against the mosque by using a new ratio to determine the parking needs for the congregation.

The township ordinance called for a ratio of one parking space per three church worshippers, but the planning board utilized a 2010 report that a ratio of 1.4 spaces per worshipper more accurately reflected the mosque's needs.

"If the township had continued litigation, there was significant risk of exceeding insurance coverage and the possibility of denial of coverage under certain exclusions," the township said in its statement. "With Judge Shipp as the presiding judge, and his honor's decision on parking, as well as his prior ruling on similar matters, the township believes settlement was the best option."

As part of the settlement, the township will amend its zoning ordinance to allow houses of worship as a conditional permitted use in all residential, commercial and institutional zones.

The township will also be required to purchase display advertising in the Courier News and other newspapers detailing its obligations under the settlement. The township will also be required to post on its internet pages a notice, in capital letters, that it complies with the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000.

The township will also required to institute a procedure to address complaints by any person who believes the township may have violated the federal law.

Jim Sues, executive director of the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the settlement sends the message that “these cases will be decided purely on zoning issues. There’s a bias in some cases, and the bias won’t be tolerated."

Shipp had also ruled against Bridgewater in the legal battle between the township and the Al Falah Center, which wanted to build a mosque on the site of the former Redwood Inn on  Mountaintop Road. The township's settlement with the mosque reached more than $7 million with the township buying a 15-acre lot for $2,75 million for the mosque to be built off Route 202-206.

Contributing: Editorial Intern Jake Nisse

Staff Writer Mike Deak: 908-243-6607; mdeak@mycentraljersey.com