Supervisors deny permit for proposed Islamic Center south of Lodi

Plans for an Islamic community center and school to be built south of Lodi came to a grinding halt today when the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors decided against a land use permit for the project.

Farooqia Islamic Center supporters filed an application at the county level nearly three years ago, though the vision for the project has been in the making for more than a decade.

It is unclear now whether Farooqia members will file a lawsuit in an attempt to overturn the decision.

The project, which included a worship hall and a kindergarten to fourth-grade school, was approved by the county Planning Commission on July 21, but was soon appealed by residents living in the agricultural area surrounding the Lower Sacramento Road property.

Stockton attorney Howard Seligman, representing the residents, said the center would bring urban aggravations like noise and traffic to a relatively rural area.

"Authorizing a school and church site in an agricultural zone sets a dangerous precedent," Seligman told supervisors. "This is the wrong use at the wrong site."

The project has been at the county level since former Imam Mohammad Adil Khan, the primary Farooqia contact, applied for a land use permit Dec. 18, 2003.

Though final plans for the site had not been shored up, Farooqia board members had planned to build a K-4 school for about 50 students, starting with a 1,600-square-foot worship tent and an 8,600-square-foot school.

Adil Khan and board members had hoped to also build a main hall to accommodate up to 400 worshippers, before the former imam was charged with an immigration violation in June and subsequently deported.

The appeal, filed in late July, cited complaints of increased traffic, noise and a lack of privacy for homes in the vicinity of the proposed center.