COOPER CITY, Fla. – After a mosque was approved by Broward County officials to be built in Cooper City, development issues arose on Tuesday after the proposed height of the building has caused concern for neighbors.
The Nur-Ul-Islam is building a new three-story school building and a mosque with three minarets.
The project is slated to grow the current home of the mosque near Stirling Road and Southwest 106th Avenue.
The towers that are typically constructed atop mosques are used to call for Muslim prayer.
The issue is over the proposed height for one of the minarets, which stands over 100 feet and would be over standard regulation.
Operators of the mosque are seeking a variance that is being met with a lot of opposition from neighbors.
The plan was originally approved by Broward County years ago but since then, the mosque has been annexed into Cooper City and the deal timed out.
Mosque leaders have agreed to drainage and traffic improvements to the area and the city’s own planning and zoning board has given an official recommendation to pass the measure.
Large crowds supporting both sides of the argument showed up to the meeting hoping to sway Cooper City Commissioners.
City leaders were supposed to make a decision on Tuesday on the proposed height and construction plans of the mosque, but after much debate and a big turnout among opposing residents, commissioners decided to defer the issue to the Jan. 24 city commission meeting.
This will allow operators of the mosque to revise their plans to make it more neighborhood friendly -- this involves scaling back the proposed height requirements for all three minarets and it allows time for the mosque to properly communicate the revisions to the neighborhood.