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• Supervisors say 'no' to Islamic center south of Lodi

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Supervisors say 'no' to Islamic center south of Lodi

Plans for an Islamic community center and school south of Lodi came to a grinding halt Tuesday when the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors decided unanimously 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.

Following Tuesday's vote, the only recourse supporters have to appeal the decision is to file a lawsuit against the county. However, it was unclear late Tuesday what they would do.

The project, which included a worship hall and a K-4 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 some 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, who lived at a house on the site, applied for a land use permit on Dec. 18, 2003. But in June, the property was put under the microscope in a terror investigation led by the FBI against several members of the Muslim community.

During the investigation, Khan was arrested on an immigration violation and subsequently agreed to be deported to his native Pakistan.

Although Chairman Steve Gutierrez said repeatedly Tuesday that the hearing was to focus not on issues in the news, some Farooqia supporters said they felt the final decision was based on more than the land issues raised in the appeal.

"This is not a land issue -- it's political," Farooqia Board Member Nasim Khan said after the meeting, his eyes welling with tears of disappointment. "They just pretended that it's not political."

The appeal, filed in late July by Eduardo Araya, cited complaints of increased traffic, noise and a lack of privacy for homes in the vicinity of the planned Farooqia center.

Stockton attorney Howard Seligman addresses the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday as he represents Eduardo Araya, who fought for an appeal to stop the further planning of the Farooqia Islamic Center.

"Whatever decision is made here today, we're going to have to live with that decision for the rest of our lives," Araya told the panel.

But other would-be neighbors spoke to supervisors about worries related to applicant Adil Khan.

Daniel Eytchison, who lives directly south of the Farooqia site, addressed claims from the FBI that the center may have had ties to a Pakistani school associated with terrorist activity and run by Khan's father.

In a comparison that visibly shook many Muslims in the audience, Eytchison likened the project to someone applying for a day care center permit when he or she had ties to a known pedophile.

"I'd call that bad stewardship," he said.

County Supervisor Jack Sieglock said he's received several complaints from Lodi residents about activity and traffic already at the Farooqia site, which hosts regular board meetings and has tutored children in the past.

Fellow Supervisor Leroy Ornellas explained his decision to approve the appeal.

"In my heart, I know these are good people, and they mean well," he said. "But I have a problem with churches and temples ... being located in the country."

San Joaquin County Supervisor Jack Sieglock talks directly to Lodi Mosque member Taj Khan, the head supporter of the proposed Farooqia Islamic Center, asking him if he really thinks the center would only house no more than 50 students, during a hearing at the San Joaquin County Courthouse in Stockton on Tuesday. (Angelina Gervasi/News-Sentinel)

Gutierrez echoed the sentiment, saying he could not approve an urban project in a rural setting.

"This kind of development is growth-inducing," he said. "Mixed (land) use is a big mistake."

Though final plans for the site had not been shored up, Farooqia board members envisioned 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 also hoped to build a main hall to accommodate up to 400 worshippers, before the former imam's Aug. 15 deportation.

Tuesday's decision came six months after another lengthy forum held before the county Planning Commission. The April 22 meeting was held at the Lodi Grape Festival grounds to accommodate the hundreds of Farooqia supporters who had turned out, as well as vocal detractors of the project.

By contrast, about 40 Farooqia supporters turned out for Tuesday's meeting, as well as a clutch of TV news crews and some residents wishing to speak against the project.

Taj Khan, head supporter of the proposed Farooqia Islamic Center, speaks to the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors during a hearing to appeal a permit for the center, as other Lodi Mosque members fill the seats at the county Courthouse in Stockton on Tuesday. (Angelina Gervasi/News-Sentinel)

When the final 5-0 vote was counted, reactions from the audience were audible. Some neighbors, including the Arayas, broke out in smiles. Seligman said after the meeting his clients were thrilled to learn that they would now be able to live in the peace a country setting provides.

But Farooqia supporters left the meeting in a state of disappointment.

Pamela Parvez, whose husband sits on the Farooqia board, fought tears under the light of TV cameras as she discussed her reaction to nearby reporters.

"I was crying so much when (Farooqia) got the land use permit," she said in the elevator ride down from the seventh-floor meeting room. "Now I'm crying for the opposite reason."

Contact reporter Sara Cardine at sarac@lodinews.com.

This story was updated at 1:50 p.m. Sept. 28, 2005, to correctly attribute a quote to Supervisor Leroy Ornellas.