BRIDGEWATER — A large crowd is anticipated for tonight's township planning board public hearing on the application to convert the old Redwood Inn off of narrow and winding Mountain Top Road into a mosque called the al-Falah Center.

The hearing will be held at 7 p.m tonight,. Monday, February 28, inside the performing arts auditorium at the Somerset County Vocational & Technical Schools, 14 Vogt Drive in Bridgewater.

Chughtai Foundation based in Pluckemin applied to the planning board for a permit to transform the 7.6-acre Redwood Inn property into a place of worship for followers of Islam. The land lies within a residential area where a house of worship is a conditionally permitted use.

The original application also includes plans for a daycare center and a school at the site. However, at least one media report indicates that the Chughtai Foundation has removed the plans for the school from its application.

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