WATERLOO - Neighbours pushing back against a proposed Muslim prayer centre on Erbsville Road say their concerns are related to traffic and future development, and have nothing to do with the religion itself.

On Monday, Waterloo council heard for the first time the Muslim Association of Canada's request to rezone the 1.2-hectare property from agricultural to institutional and green so that an existing home can be renovated and used as a prayer centre.

But the plan and talk of a future expansion had neighbours nervous.

Zhan Wang told politicians they should reject the rezoning application. He had several concerns about impacts on the neighbourhood.

"My rejection is nothing to do with the race, with the ethnic religion . (I am) only concerned about the size of the building, the traffic, the location, the needs and the local residents' opinion."

He said there isn't a need in the area for a Muslim prayer or community centre and that Erbsville Road cannot accommodate the additional traffic he suspects a prayer centre would attract.

Those and other factors would interrupt the "peaceful life of the community," he said.

The property at 510 Erbsville Rd. is fronted by forest facing the street and backs on to a thick wooded area with few adjacent homes. There is an industrial use to the north and a wetland is also onsite.

Shanmei Li was also concerned about traffic.

"I support our Muslim friends to build their gathering place of worship. However, I raise my concern about the location," she said.

Ghufran Mahboob spoke on behalf of the Muslim association. He said there is a need for the centre because the west of Waterloo has grown and there are at least 150 Muslim families in Laurelwood.

"There's no reason why the residents who live in that space shouldn't have the spiritual use facility in their area . that they can take benefit of," he said.

Tom Hardacre of IBI Group, agent for the property owner, said long-term plans are uncertain, but the group needs the rezoning now so it can start using the site and fundraise for a future expansion.

"They need the zone change for a place to call their own as an approved designation so they can begin their fundraising exercise for the long term development of the site," he said.

He said that until 2003 the property was zoned to allow for spiritual uses.

Coun. Brian Bourke said potential future plans raised questions.

"I just hear a lot of concern about uncertainty and people don't know what's going to happen," he said.

Bourke asked Mahboob a question emailed to him during the meeting by a resident: Would the association mount loudspeakers on the front of the building?

"No, absolutely not," Mahboob said. "Why would we do that? It makes no sense."

The community raised $800,000 to buy the property and Mahboob said there are no current plans for expansion. Rather, the group wanted to be clear that in future that may change.

"The only reason we mentioned there might be something in the future is to be open and transparent," he said.

Expansion would require upgrading sewer service and connecting to municipal water, a costly process for a non-profit organization, Mahboob said.

He said prayer is five times each day, the first before sunrise and the last around sunset. In between, he wouldn't expect every community member there for each prayer.

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Evening prayer would be the most popular, Mahboob said, with maybe 20 or so people at any given time on the site.

He said the association reached out to the community.

"We tried to reach out to our neighbours previously, prior to this meeting, to try and walk them through our plans that we have of what we'd like to do," he said.

He added that "we want to strengthen our community ties."

Douglas Stewart, a planner with Stantec Consulting, spoke on behalf of three property owners on Old Oak Drive.

He said the lack of detail on what could be developed in future is concerning.

"It's pretty vague, it's pretty open-ended and it certainly does not help convince . this is the correct place for this to occur," he said.

That uncertainty was also an issue for Coun. Mark Whaley.

"That's a question mark of we want to approve this now with no idea what it could look like in the future," he said.

If the property is zoned institutional, a building up to six storeys in height could be developed, said Rita Szilock, city planner.

Eight parking spaces for every 100 square metres of floor space would be required.

Council will vote on the rezoning request at a later date.

- D'Amato: Stop worrying: Erbsville Road is a great place for Muslim prayer centre