11:29 p.m. EDT, July 14, 2011
Some Henrico residents wasted no time telling the county’s planning commission why a mosque should not be built in their neighborhood.
The traffic and noise generated from a mosque are main concerns and also, its proximity to Holladay Elementary School.
Members of the Muslim community want the zoning of a lot behind Holladay Elementary changed from office to residential. A residential classification would allow for a place of worship on the property.
Members who spoke before the commission say they must travel to Chesterfield or pray in a hotel conference room. The Mosque’s investors say they looked at other properties after getting turned down by the commission for the same request back in 2008, but, no other property was accessible enough.
One county resident told the commission, she is not only worried about the exterior of the mosque, but the inside. “They’re not teaching them to love their neighbors. They’re teaching them to take over this country,” says Sue Blake.
In response, one Mosque investor says his family, “works hard in every neighborhood to make sure it’s safe.”