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Officials of a planned mosque in Temecula say they will begin the project this month in an effort to beat the expiration of the project’s building permit.
The Islamic Center of Temecula Valley is holding a groundbreaking ceremony at 3 p.m., Friday, Sept. 28, at the construction site on Nichols Road off Winchester Road, said Hadi Nael, chairman of the center’s construction committee.
Nael said the mosque needs to have a slab in place by Dec. 1 in order to validate its permit. If not, he said the project could face more public discussions.
“We’re trying to avoid another hearing,” he said.
Hundreds showed up to hearings in 2010-11 as the project was caught up in an often-emotional debate over freedom of religion. It was also caught up in the debate over a proposed mosque near Ground Zero in New York.
Eventually, Temecula’s Planning Commission approved the project, and the City Council rejected an appeal of the approval in January 2011.
The center must pull its building permit and start construction within two years of the project’s approval, said Patrick Richardson, Temecula’s director of development services. He said the January deadline is the one the center must meet.
Mosque officials could ask for up to three, one-year extensions to that deadline, but that could trigger a Planning Commission hearing if members of the public or Richardson asked for one, Richardson said.
The first phase of the $4.2million project was expected to begin in February, but delays have pushed it back until now. Nael said he is sensitive to the current attacks on Americans in Libya and Egypt, as well as the recently passed anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
“We are in a very tough situation,” he said. “I really don’t want to do it in September, but I really have no choice.”
When completed, the 24,943-square-foot, two-story mosque will serve as the permanent place of worship for more than 100 local Muslim families who currently gather in a rented space in Murrieta.
Several mosque critics contacted Thursday said they were unaware of any plans to protest the groundbreaking. Nael said the center will work with local police and other governmental agencies over security issues.
Following the ground breaking ceremony, the center will hold a community appreciation banquet at 6 p.m. at the Community Recreation Center, 30875 Rancho Vista Road in Temecula.
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