Glenhaven mosque: Hills District Muslim Society and council in court
Comparisons have been drawn between a nearby church and a planned mosque as the legal battle over the building of the Islamic place of worship continues in court.
Hills Shire
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The lawyer representing an Islamic society hoping to build a mosque in Glenhaven asked a planning expert why a nearby Christian church could host a congregation of up to 300 and not his client’s place of worship.
The Hills District Muslim Society ‘Hills AWQAF Pty Ltd’ and Hills Shire Council faced the Land and Environment Court on Thursday on day four of a hearing into plans to build a 250-person place of worship at 1 Larapinta Place.
Hills Shire Council’s planning expert Ellen Robertshaw expressed her concerns over the hours of operation of the mosque proposed to be operating from 5am to 10pm.
“There will be people attending a site to an intensity you would not usually see in a rural residential area over a large period of the day,” Ms Robertshaw said.
She was addressed by Hills AWQAF’s lawyer Michael Staunton who asked her what the issue was with a 5am mass service, capped at 25 people.
While Ms Robertshaw said there were no noise and traffic issues related to the 5am start she stressed there would be a lot more activity than there normally would be at a rural setting.
Mr Staunton put it to the court that nearby church St Madeleine’s in Kenthurst could host congregations of up to 300 persons at Christmas and Easter.
He said: “That is obviously a Christian faith that has a different method of worship to what is proposed in this application, do you agree with that?” to which Ms Robertshaw replied “I agree, yes.”
Mr Staunton then said it wouldn’t be unusual for a place of worship to have numerous services throughout the “day, week and year.”
Yet Ms Robertshaw disagreed, adding: “I’m not aware of another faith that has services every day….and several times a day.”
“I’m sorry it doesn’t matter what the faith it’s still a place of public worship,” Mr Staunton interjected.
Ms Robertshaw said “absolutely” yet expressed the issue was related to the number of services and “cumulative number of people” going to and from the site over seven days a week with peaks on Friday and one month a year (Ramadan).
Ms Robertshaw later conceded there would be “minimal conflict” with a 5am mass if the development complied with a plan of management and conditions of consent.
Hills Shire Council’s lawyer Adam Seton previously told the court there would be an increase of “21 times” the current level of vehicles at Larapinta Pl.
Mr Seton said there was approximately five vehicles entering Larapinta Pl per hour and 100 additional cars attending the mosque on a Friday session would increase the vehicles numbers from 5 to 105 at its peak.
He told the court there was nothing of the same level of “intensity” in the same rural transitioning zone.
Yet another planning expert Stuart Harding said he disagreed, referring to a nearby school and adjoining place of worship which he claimed had a “significant” level of intensity in terms of land use.
Mr Seton said the operational hours and numbers at the other establishment were far more “reduced” than the proposed mosque.
“It certainly doesn’t start at 5am and seize at 10pm each day,” he said.
Other issues between council and the mosque’s lawyers include potential tree removal and fencing.
Court was adjourned to September 27 for closing submissions.
EARLIER
By Nicole Pierre on September 14, 2021
A controversial mosque on a quiet rural street with just seven homes is not the right location for a place of worship of that scale, residents told the Land and Environment Court.
The Hills District Muslim Society ‘Hills AWQAF Pty Ltd’ and Hills Shire Council faced the Land and Environment Court on Monday on day one of a hearing into plans to build a 250-person place of worship at 1 Larapinta Place.
Hills AWQAF first lodged plans to build a $8 million mosque in Glenhaven in April 2018 triggering widespread community protest.
It was subsequently refused by a state planning panel in 2019 before an appeal was lodged against the decision at the Land and Environment Court.
Six residents appeared via audio visual link in court to share their concerns of the proposed mosque including fears that the rural residential street was not an appropriate location for a place of worship and some argued how a 250-person cap would be enforced.
A spokesman for Friends of Glenhaven Mitchell Blue told the court the development went against the public interest and was “not fit for purpose.”
Mr Blue claimed the Muslim society was operating as a “commercial operation” and claimed a promotional video previously released by the society was used to raise funds to help purchase the site of the mosque.
“As defined in the Hills Shire LEP (Local Environment Plan) the site in question is zoned RU6 Rural Transition,” Mr Blue told the court.
“This site is not suitable for a commercial operation as proposed in the development application…”
He claimed the proposed mosque’s operations were comparable to facilities such as Hillsong Church in Norwest and Baitul Huda Mosque in Marsden Park while emphasising they were both located in “commercial zones.”
The court heard The Hills District Muslim Society has about 800 members and “was growing.”
“They want to construct a facility to cater for a maximum of 250 people…in a building that was assessed of holding close to 1900. It just does not make sense,” Mr Blue said.
He also claimed that the 250 number was “significantly understated” especially for Friday prayers and questioned how the limit would be enforced.
“Will they be turned away? … We do not know of a place of worship that turns worshippers away,” he said.
Mr Blue said based on the numbers Friday prayers would attract, it should be considered a “special event” and require specific traffic management plans.
Noise concerns were also raised with Mr Blue claiming the Muslim society’s promotional video said “people will turn up in the middle of the night.”
Others expressed their concerns over traffic with an influx of worshippers driving to the place of worship.
Michael Gremmo told the court he was concerned about increased traffic particularly due to the tragic death of his son who was struck and killed about 100m from the proposed site.
Rick Allison, who has lived at Larapinta Pl for 20 years, said he and his wife worked hard to buy a property and set up their lives on the “small rural road” shared with six other homes.
Mr Allison told the court if he wanted to live near a large development area he would’ve chosen to live at a unit in a block in a commercial centre.
Hills AWQAF’s lawyer Michael Staunton said the group would be able to manage traffic and numbers at the place of worship.
Mr Staunton said an Eventbrite booking system would be used to manage the numbers of patrons attending the mosque so it would not exceed the 250 person cap.
He said traffic controllers would also ensure no additional cars attended once the basement carpark reached capacity.
Hills Shire Council’s lawyer Adam Seton said contentions over the development included the place of public worship no longer being approved in a rural transitioning zone, the “intensity” of the proposal including it being “out of character” for the area and noise impacts.
Mr Seton said that changes in the Local Environment Plan 2019 meant that cemeteries and places of worship were no longer allowed in the rural transition zoning area where the mosque was proposed.
He told the court the process to amend the LEP started six months before the subject development application was first lodged but the amendment was only made afterwards.
Hills AWQAF’s lawyer Mr Staunton said the development kept with the objectives of the rural transitioning zone which was to protect and maintain land that transitions between rural and other land uses.
Mr Staunton said an interesting question was raised if the commissioner was to take into account the current LEP.
“Technically speaking at that moment in time (when the application was lodged) LEP 2019 didn’t prohibit places of public worship,” he said.
The hearing continues.
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