Hampshire Mosque pulls plans for house of worship on Harkness Rd.

AMHERST – The Hampshire Mosque will not be relocating to Harkness Road, withdrawing its application to convert a former Christian school into a space for prayer services and religious education.

The decision comes after two Planning Board public hearings in April, both of which were well attended by residents of Amherst and Pelham, with many expressing concerns about the impact of traffic on the rural street from the new use of the property.

Mohammad Ali Hazratji, president of the mosque, said Thursday that the reasons for withdrawal included not being able to secure the property from its current owners, comments from neighbors and the possible restrictions on expansion that might have been imposed by the permitting board.

“Ultimately, it was a combination of factors that led to our decision,” Hazratji said.

Hazratji sent a letter to the Planning Department just before the Memorial Day weekend briefly explaining the request for withdrawal without prejudice. Christine Brestrup, Amherst senior planner, said withdrawing the application without prejudice means the plans could come back before the board in a more timely fashion. “It is a more flexible method of ending a case,” Brestrup said.

“Perhaps this will be the most satisfactory resolution of this issue, especially for the neighbors of the property,” Hazratji wrote.

The Planning Board was scheduled to resume, and possibly complete, the public hearings on the mosque Wednesday, before receiving Hazratji’s letter.

The mosque, located in rented space in the Carriage Shops at 1 East Pleasant St. for the past three years, first filed plans in February. It was at an April 7 hearing when several residents said they were worried about an increase in traffic on what they said was an already dangerous road.

The mosque anticipated being active several times each week, including bringing in 40 to 60 people at a weekly congregational prayer on Friday afternoons, 15 to 30 people at the Wednesday evening religious instruction and spirituality training sessions, and up to 50 people for Sunday morning religious instruction for children. The mosque also has five daily prayers and greater activity during the holy season of Ramadan.

At the April 21 meeting, it appeared a resolution was near, with the Planning Board ready to place limits on the number of vehicles and the capacity of the building.

The mosque had intended to purchase the property from the Sunbow 5 Foundation for Planetary Healing Inc., which took over the site from the Harkness Road High School. The site was originally developed as Owen’s Poultry Farm.

“Out of fairness to the seller of the property, we were not able to procure all permits and approvals by the closing date,” Hazratji said.

The mosque’s proposal came after Hazratji had been looking at locations outside of Amherst. Town Manager Larry Shaffer encouraged him to find property in town to continue serving the needs of local Muslims.

Shaffer said he continues to recommend expansion of the mosque in Amherst.

“Amherst is a community that values its diversity,” Shaffer said. “I personally think the town is well suited to accommodate a mosque.”

Harkness Road residents Stearns and Dorothy Morse had supported the effort, noting they had previously lived on a street with a mosque.

“We very much regret that the Muslim community was not made to feel welcome on Harkness Road,” Dorothy Morse said. “We are very disappointed.”

Some neighbors argued the entire process got off on the wrong foot when Hazratji’s initial remarks before the board discussed bias, bigotry and lack of understanding that other communities had used as reasons to prevent mosques.

Amherst attorney Alan Seewald, who represented neighbors Steve and Linda Prothers, said the issue for his clients was always about land use, not the land user, and ensuring the Planning Board gave a proper level of review. “We just wanted this proposal to be treated like any other proposal,” Seewald said.

As the process went on, Seewald said he was satisfied that board members had done this.

Planning Board Chairman Jonathan Shefftz said he was surprised by Hazratji’s decision, coming so close to the date the hearing was to resume. But Shefftz observed that the mosque might not have been able to expand on Harkness Road, which is away from downtown and not as easy to access for students and those without vehicles.

“Realistically, the mosque might be better served by a more central location in town,” Shefftz said.

It is unlikely, though, that the mosque will continue to pursue plans on Harkness Road, Hazratji said. Instead, the mosque will be open to locating anywhere in the Amherst area, preferably some place on the bus route, he said.

“We don’t have any target property right now that appeals to us,” Hazratji said.

Even though space is tight at the current location, especially with large gatherings during Ramadan, Hazratji said the mosque has functioned with limited space and will continue to do so.

“We have no hard feelings toward anyone,” Hazratji said. “We thought the location would work well for us and for them, but it’s not meant to be.”