The Planning & Zoning Commission has unanimously denied a site plan for The Center of Islamic Knowledge on 2.64 acres at 1026 and 1030 N. Murphy Road. The vote followed an hour of generally negative public comment and a 20-minute executive session at the Thursday, April 9, meeting.
City staff noted deficiencies in the application by Cordoba Consulting, including the lack of enough parking spaces for the future use of the two buildings currently zoned for single-family residential occupancy.
One building is a 2,166 square-foot residence built in 1986 and the other is a 1,532 square-foot house built in 1965.
The site plan, filed last October, was tabled at the Jan. 8 P&Z meeting for lack of clarification about the actual use of the buildings.
Assistant City Manager Jared Mayfield said the site plan was for a church or place of worship, which would be allowed in all residential districts.
However, Mayfield said the site plan was incomplete, not in compliance and provided for only 21 parking spaces instead of the 51 spaces that would be required for a 1,210 square-foot auditorium proposed for the smaller building.
Residents asked the commission to deny the application for a variety of other reasons, including the potential traffic that would be generated.
The center is not affiliated with the Islamic Association of Murphy’s mosque being built on the northeast corner of McMillen Road and North Murphy Road.
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