Residents of a Waterloo neighbourhood say they have plenty of reasons for opposing plans to build a mosque in their area.
They say their concerns have nothing to do with the Muslim faith itself, but instead with what a mosque or spiritual centre would do to traffic, noise levels and property values in northwest Waterloo.
“I thought it would disturb our life,” Zhan Wang said in an interview.
Wang was one of dozens of Laurelwood residents who attended a city council meeting to speak against the Islamic Centre of Waterloo’s plan to rezone a property on Erbsville Road.
The Muslim Association of Canada already owns the land in question, and is in the process of renovating it. It is currently zoned for agricultural uses, which do not include religious purposes.
Wang says he doesn’t understand why the mosque should be built on Erbsville, in what he says is largely a residential area.
“There’s no factory, there’s no plazas – absolutely no public buildings,” he said.
He also questions why Waterloo needs a second mosque, when it has one about five kilometres away.
Local Muslim officials have said that they believe a mosque on Erbsville would be used by about 150 families.
