Fate of proposed prayer centre rests on council vote

Waterloo City Council is set to vote today on the fate of a highly divisive Islamic prayer centre on Erbsville Road.

It’s been a year since the first public meeting was held last May, in that time residents opposing the centre have launched a Facebook page, released a YouTube video, and even created a petition that has now reached over 700 signatures.

At the center of it all, the rezoning of 510 Erbsville Road from agricultural to institutional.

That change would allow the Muslim Association who owns the property, to convert the small space into a prayer centre.

It wasn’t long before fliers citing a number of concerns from traffic, to noise pollution to property value began circulating the neighborhood.

But when it comes to traffic, Councillor Brian Bourke who represents the ward, says those concerns don’t hold up.

“Erbsville road is built to handle 20,000 cars a day, it currently handles 12,000, so in the planning process the answer to that question is not enough people to create a 1,000 cars a day,” he says.

Given how heated this topic has been, the city has already said it plans on having extra staff and security at the meeting, in what could be a long night at city hall.

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