TOMS RIVER – A hearing before the Zoning Board of Adjustment for a mosque and school in town was postponed yet again at the April 27 meeting.
Attorney Chris Dasti announced that the meeting was improperly noticed. By law, an applicant has to provide adequate notice to all interested parties to ensure that they can come to a meeting when the application is discussed. Since that did not happen, the hearing could not be held.
The target date for the application is now June 8, at 7:30 p.m. at town hall. The application had been originally made a long time ago by the Bilal Educational Academy/Muslim Society of South Jersey. They wish to build a 51,040-square-foot building at 1733 Lakewood Road/Route 9. The two-story building would be on the northbound side of the road between Silverton and Church roads. The current 3,903-square-foot mosque on the property would be demolished.
A use variance is required because the parcel is zoned as a rural highway business zone. A school would not be conforming. Additionally, a minimum of 10 acres is required to build a school. The lot is 5.568 acres.
