Zoning change, permit for mosque and retail center OK’d by BA Planning Commission

By John Dobberstein, Editor

After hearing more than 4 hours of emotional comments from the public about a proposed mosque in Broken Arrow, the city’s Planning Commission voted Thursday to recommend approval of a rezoning application and conditional use permit for the project.

On a 4-1 vote, the Planning Commission approved the rezoning of the 15-acre parcel near the Creek Turnpike and Olive Avenue from agricultural to commercial-general, with members Jason Coan, Bob Goranson, Jonathan Townsend and Jaylee Klempa voting “yes” and Mindy Payne voting “no.”

A motion to recommend approval of the use permit for a place of assembly was approved on a 3-2 vote, with Payne and Klempa voting against it. Coan floated both motions and both were seconded by Townsend.

The rezoning and use permit now go before the Broken Arrow City Council for review. If the project moves further, there will be requisite studies on drainage, traffic, utilities and more to be completed before construction can begin.

Although the Planning Commission said repeatedly their decision could only factor in certain criteria on land use, dozens of residents from Broken Arrow to Bixby, and from Tulsa to Leonard had plenty to say about cultural differences between Americans and Muslims that made them uncomfortable with the project.

More than 70 people signed up to speak at Thursday’s public hearing. The city received 68 calls about the project and 150 emails — 6 in favor and 144 in opposition. Attendees who couldn’t fit into the City Council chambers viewed the meeting from an overflow room.

Built in phases

Rick Brown, the architect representing the developer, the Islamic Society of Tulsa, said the house of worship and commercial center would be built in stages. The prayer facility, when fully built out, would total 38,000 square feet and include about 700 parking spaces.

Phase 1 would be the prayer hall and support functions, Phase 2 would finish out the second floor with classrooms and a women’s prayer area, Phase 3 would add a gym.

On most days, Brown said, there would only be a handful of vehicles at the building for those participating in daily prayers, but there would be much more traffic during the Friday afternoon prayer service and during Ramadan.

“We really don’t think there will be a traffic problem,” Brown said, noting there would be a security guard to direct traffic.

Numerous residents expressed concerns about “call for prayers” being broadcast from the building, but Brown said there will be no external speakers wired to the building or messages broadcast outside. “All of the prayers are within the walls of the mosque. I can’t imagine it’s any louder than any Christian church I’ve been in,” Brown said.

“In the last 25 years we’ve never thought about adding a speaker outside and never had this problem,” said Aslam Syed, an elected member of the ISOT who attends 2 of the 5 daily prayers at their Tulsa mosque. “Our mosque is in a neighborhood surrounded by residential houses, and nobody has complained.  

“We’re not here to hurt Broken Arrow. We want to be serving Broken and be part of the fabric of Broken Arrow.”

He noted the Tulsa mosque near Sheridan Road and 41^st Street has outgrown its space, with only 380 parking spaces available for up to 1,000 members attending services from around the metro.

Brown said Muslims don’t turn to commercial banks to build projects and typically pay for it out of pocket. Brown said ISOT is still collecting the funds for Phase 1 and when the 50% threshold is met they will likely start construction.

Syed said it took more than a decade for the “doctors, engineers” and other Muslims in the Tulsa community to raise enough money to buy the land in 2014. Records show the property is owned by the North American Islamic Trust.

Some in attendance support the project, noting they had friends and acquaintances who are Muslim and the sweeping generalizations being made about them were unfair.

“I’m asking you to see this project not just as bricks and mortar, but also a symbol of who we are and who we aspire to be, and that is community,” said Phil Armstrong, president of the Oklahoma Center for Community Justice in Tulsa and a founder of the Greenwood Rising/Black Wall Street Center.

“Muslims are teachers, doctors, business owners and parents, they volunteer in our schools, serve in our hospitals and contribute to the strength of the economy. But they lack a place of worship to celebrate cultural milestones. Approving this project says Broken Arrow is a city where diversity is not something to overcome but to embrace.”

Colby Palmer, a longtime Broken Arrow resident, said he was raised in a Christian household and he understands the importance of religious freedom for all Oklahomans.

“(Muslims) are a kind, charitable and peace-loving community who have proven willing to come out and help and support the entire community,” Palmer told the Planning Commission. “Even though I may not be Muslim I still support their right to practice their religion just like I would support yours.”

‘Not another Dearborn’

But the vast majority of those speaking Thursday were against the project due to either cultural concerns or physical limitations of the property.

“We do not need or want another Dearborn, Michigan or East Plano Islamic Center,” said Cheri Thomas of Broken Arrow, who is concerned Muslim citizens will overwhelm the city if a mosque is built. “They reject our laws and customs and, as you can see by their own writings, their goal is to take over and impose their laws — not assimilate, embrace or comply with our constitution or our culture.

“Islam is incompatible with our constitution. It’s the job of our government to protect our culture, legal interests and citizen rights and freedoms, not pander to those who are hostile to our constitution.”

Randy Prevatt, a longtime Broken Arrow resident, said he worked for 5 years as a civil contractor in the Middle East and lived among Muslim people in an apartment building.

“I am an American now,” he said, “and don’t want to put up with it here. They will never tell you the truth if they don’t have to. This will be right next to a Christian church and that blows my mind. And they’re only putting in a commercial property in there because they want you to approve it. It’s tax dollars.”

Former State Sen. Nathan Dahm and several other attendees expressed concerns about the site, including the lack of ingress and egress points on the property save for Olive Avenue, and the septic sewer and its proximity to White Horse Creek, which drains into Haikey Creek. For now, the building will need to rely on septic sewer as there are no city utilities close enough to tie into.

Based on the schematic provided by the architect, Dahm said the 15-acre site will not accommodate 60,000 square feet of structures and 700 parking spaces based on what he knows about other church footprints in Broken Arrow.

“You’ve been given all kinds of reasons to vote no and not been given any reasons to vote yes,” Dahm said to the Planning Commission.

State Sen. Christi Gillespie, a former Broken Arrow City Council member, told the Planning Commission the city depends on sales tax revenue to pay for its basic services and putting a church and a small strip center along the turnpike didn’t make economic sense.

She also said the city’s Comprehensive Plan calls for a frontage road along the turnpike between Olive and Aspen, and the mosque and retail center would prevent that from happening. Brown said nobody had talked to him about the potential for a frontage road.

“The staff recommendation doesn’t mean you have to vote yes,” Gillespie said. “The Olive exit is the first gateway into our city, and we need a frontage road and commercial along it to be viewed from the highway so we can generate sales taxes.”

Revenue Matters

Mindy Payne said when she served on the New Orleans Square Advisory Committee exploring redevelopment of that key intersection, she was opposed to allowing a church to take over the former Reasor’s building due to lost sales-tax revenue.

“There were two churches that wanted to look at that. We waited and now look what it is — it’s Crunch Fitness. It brings in a lot of people.

“I’m not looking at the religious part of this. I’m looking at what we are doing in South BA and the use of the land. I don’t feel one strip of retail that is not guaranteed, really, is going to be great for this area. We have to have the tax dollars to bring in other development.”

“With a lot of comments that have been made,” Coan said, “if it was your religious organization trying to build a temple, how would you feel about having your rights denied? You all have the right to do what you want with your land as long as meets the criteria set by city and government.”