City hears plan to rezone site for Osman Ghazi Mosque expansion; no public opposition at hearing

At a public hearing on Feb. 4, city planner Jeff Green described a request to rezone roughly 1.036 acres from Light Industrial (I-1) to Eclectic Single-Family (ER-4) and to establish a planned development encompassing 1.48 acres at 1508 Valley Street for the Osman Ghazi Mosque.

Green said the rezoning and planned-development proposal is intended to transition the property to match surrounding residential context west of Rutledge Avenue and to accommodate a new standalone prayer hall building. The plan calls for a campus-style layout with significant landscaping improvements (approximately 74 new trees), fencing and building orientation considerations that accommodate religious practices. The proposal seeks reduced setbacks and a reduction in required on-site parking to seven spaces; staff said the reduced parking will be supported by formal shared-parking agreements with adjacent properties, including a neighboring truck terminal and an existing church owned by the mosque.

Green reported that the applicant held a neighborhood meeting in advance, no public comments for or against the plan were received during the hearing, and both the Northeast Land Use Board and the City Plan Board unanimously recommended approval. Mayor Turner-Sloss asked about the duration and terms of the shared-parking agreement; Green said the agreement remains in effect until any sale of the truck terminal property, at which point the mosque would need to return to the City with an alternative parking plan.

Legislative action: Staff introduced Ordinance No. 32176-26 for first reading to amend the Official Zoning Map and establish the planned development for 1508 Valley Street. No final adoption vote was recorded at the hearing; the ordinance was advanced for its first reading.