Township Committee may vote on whether to accept terms offered in settlement of lawsuits by the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge and the U.S. Dept. Of Justice.
BERNARDS -- A special joint meeting of the Township Committee and planning board to discuss a settlement in lawsuits filed by the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge and the U.S. Department of Justice will be held Wednesday, according to the public relations firm representing the township.
The Islamic Society and the Department of Justice have both filed lawsuits against the township for denying an application to build a mosque and a settlement has been discussed in court, it was previously reported.
The meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the township municipal building.
A vote on whether to accept the terms of a proposed settlement in both lawsuits may be taken at the meeting, said Michael P. Turner, president of the Trenton-based public relations firm, Burton Trent Public Affairs.
There will be a public comment portion during the meeting in which residents can voice their opinions, said Turner.
The special meeting was originally scheduled for April 21, but it had to be rescheduled because not enough notice was given to the public, he said.
The proposed settlement would end a four-year legal stalemate between the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge and Bernards Township over the construction of a mosque in the Liberty Corner of the township.
Justice Dept. rarely loses mosque lawsuits
In March, a letter was sent to District Court Judge Lois Goodman by the attorney for the township, saying that there had been progress toward a settlement and final resolution, it has been reported.
On New Year's Eve, a federal judge ruled that Bernards Township's insistence that a proposed mosque have more parking spaces than churches or synagogues was unconstitutional.
The proposed mosque, which faced intense neighborhood opposition, went through 39 planning board meetings before being rejected in December of 2015. The founders of the mosque then sued, claiming the township's requirement of a "supersized" parking lot was an example of religious discrimination.
The Islamic Society of Basking Ridge wants to build a 4,252-square-foot mosque on Church Street on a property the congregation purchased for $750,000. The mosque was planned to have a 1,954-square-foot prayer hall that, according to the lawsuit, met zoning requirements, but was denied by the township.
The Islamic Society argued in the lawsuit, which is more than 100 pages in length, that the planning board's denial was illegal.
A settlement could be costly. In 2014, Bridgewater Township paid $7.75 million to settle a lawsuit filed by The Al Falah Center when it was denied permission to build a mosque on Mountaintop Road.
Dave Hutchinson may be reached at dhutchinson@njadvancemedia.com.Follow him on Twitter @DHutch_SL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.