MANALAPAN – A religious organization that has had a presence in Manalapan since the 1990s has received municipal approval to construct a new house of worship in the township.
Representatives of the Ahl’e Baith Foundation, whose members practice the Shia religion, appeared at the April 26 meeting of the Planning Board. The foundation was represented by attorney Gerald Sonnenblick.
Sonnenblick provided a brief history of the organization in Manalapan. He said that since the 1990s, the Ahl’e Baith Foundation has conducted religious services in a 5,000-square-foot building on Mount Vernon Road in Manalapan.
In 2006, the foundation acquired an 8-acre parcel on Mount Vernon Road near the corner of Tracy Station Road, with the goal of constructing a modern house of worship and fellowship center. The property lies in Manalapan (6.35 acres) and Englishtown (1.73 acres). The property in each municipality is zoned residential.
Sonnenblick said that in 2008, the foundation received approval to construct a 26,000-square-foot building on the 8-acre tract. He said those plans were derailed by the Great Recession of 2008-09.
When the applicant returned on April 26, it was with a proposal for a one-story building totaling 18,000 square feet and still including the worship area and fellowship center. Sonnenblick said the project received municipal approval in Englishtown on April 24. He was before the board seeking approval in Manalapan two nights later.
Sadeq Razvi, a founding member of the Ahl’e Baith Foundation, said there were about 125 member families in 2006. Today, the number of member families is about 130. Most of the member families reside in Englishtown, Manalapan, Marlboro, Monroe Township and Old Bridge, according to the testimony.
Razvi said no liquor and no music would be permitted in the new building. The fellowship hall could be rented by an outside organization, but that organization would have to follow the conditions that prohibit liquor, pork and music on the premises, he said. The worship area, which will not have seating as congregants use prayer mats, would not be rented to any other organization, Razvi said.
Religious services are generally held from 8:30-9:30 p.m. Thursday and from 1-2 p.m. Friday. During Ramadan, which occurs at a different time each year, services are held each evening for one month. Services during Ramadan begin just after sundown and last for about two hours, according to the testimony.
Educational programs will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the building on Mount Vernon Road the foundation currently uses for its worship services, Razvi said.
Engineer Michael Geller, testifying on behalf of the applicant, said there are no wetlands or transition areas on the property, and no environmental constraints.
The board’s engineer, Brian Boccanfuso, said he had no issues with the applicant’s storm water management plan, or with the proposed buffers that would separate the house of worship from neighboring residential zones.
The new building will not contain any classrooms, but will have a small kitchen area where food that has been brought to the site may be heated. The municipal code requires 167 parking spaces and the applicant will provide that number of spaces, Geller said. The building would be served by public water and sewer and the only access will be from Mount Vernon Road.
Traffic engineer John Rea said he examined the area when the application was before the board in 2008 and said he reassessed the situation as it exists now.
Rea said traffic is light to moderate at the intersection of Mount Vernon and Tracy Station roads. He said the intersection would accommodate vehicles leaving the house of worship without a significant decline in the level of service at that location. There is no traffic light at the intersection. Vehicles have a stop sign on Mount Vernon Road.
Some vehicles leaving the house of worship could take Mount Vernon Road in the other direction and follow it to its intersection with High Bridge Road, according to the testimony.
During public comment, John Goswick of Tracy Station Road said he lives in one of the few houses that are close to the property owned by the Ahl’e Baith Foundation. He expressed concern that on some nights there could be people at the building late in the evening and he asked about the issue of noise.
Mayor Jack McNaboe, who sits on the Planning Board, said the board members were “trying to be reasonable” to the applicant and to residents. McNaboe suggested that Goswick could work out any concerns with the foundation’s directors, or if a problem such as noise is serious enough at one time, the police could be called.
“We want this (building) to fit into our community. We don’t want it to overwhelm our community,” McNaboe said.
Hyder Naqvi of East Brunswick said that on behalf of the congregation, he would be pleased to work with Goswick to address any issues the resident may have.
Board members did not express any significant concerns about the proposal before them.
Board member Barry Jacobson made a motion to grant the Ahl’e Baith Foundation amended preliminary and final major site plan approval for the proposed 18,000-square-foot building.
On a roll call, Chairwoman Kathryn Kwaak, Daria D’Agostino, Rick Hogan, Alan Ginsberg, Township Committeeman David Kane, John Castronovo, Todd Brown, McNaboe and Jacobson voted “yes” to allow the applicant to construct its new house of worship.