'A dream in the making': Muslim prayer centre approved
City council received 230 emails from the public, some supporting the prayer and some against it
After a half-decade of effort, a group of Muslims in Waterloo have finally gotten approval for a proposed prayer centre in a residential neighbourhood.
Waterloo city council approved a zoning bylaw change to allow the existing single detached residence and garage at 510 Erbsville Rd. to be used for a prayer centre.
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"It's been a lengthy process, hence the excitement building up over time and the anxiousness among the community that they can't wait to start using it,' said Asif Manzoor, chapter head for the Muslim Association of Canada for Kitchener-Waterloo.
Now, the upcoming Muslim prayer centre will have enough room to accommodate 25 people in the Laurelwood community.
"Laurelwood is an area where there is a growing population of Muslims, whether they are affiliated with the university or they work in the IT sector so there was a high demand," Manzoor said.
Neighbours opposed centre
The Muslim Association of Canada faced some opposition from neighbours in the area. Overall, city council received 230 emails from the public on the issue, some supporting the prayer centre and some opposing it.
There was also a Facebook group called Residents Opposing 510 Erbsville Road Rezoning, where group said the plans for the prayer centre would disrupt traffic in the area.
However, a noise and traffic study in the area showed that Erbsville Road has the capacity to handle around 20,000 vehicles per day but on average, only 11,800 vehicles travel through daily.
'City that speaks for tolerance'
Manzoor was also moved by how many showed their support during the meeting.
"It was great news for us that the zoning by-law was voted on but the bigger news was how the meeting was conducted and how the support came because that puts Waterloo on Ontario's stage as a city that speaks for tolerance," he said.
"It has been a dream in the making."
However, Muslims in Laurelwood are going to have to wait a little longer before they can use the site as a prayer centre. Council still has to draft the bylaw and vote on it as well as finalize the site plan. Manzoor said it could take up to two months to finalize it.