Mosque location challenged by locals

KNYSNA NEWS - The saga of the Knysna mosque continues as a group of local homeowners and concerned citizens have now given the municipality a further grace period to provide all and additional documentation legally required by them, by next Tuesday, February 9.

The Knysna municipality were first given notice of this intention by 22 Rawson Street Homeowners to supply relevant documents showing they had followed due process by way of a paper trail (for example minutes of meeting, notifying residents in advance and other records of proceedings before making the decision to sell the land) by January 22.

Insufficient documentation was received, according to the applicants.

Another deadline of February 9 has now been set in terms of a document filed in the Cape Town High Court (Case nr 22316 of 2015). Notice has been served on the municipality which compels them to provide all further documentation requested by the applicants.

Mick Hudspith, a spokesperson for 22 Rawson Street Homeowners, who appears as the first applicant in the court papers, says the municipality has to show they followed due process when they allowed for the erection of a mosque on a 1 277sq m Rawson Street property belonging to the Knysna Muslim Council - and this entails providing further documentation proving this.

Municipal manager Grant Easton in a statement yesterday said, "The applicant served a Rule 53 Notice on us. We filed certain records at court on the 8th of January 2016. The applicants now requested that additional documents be filed."

Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyer Inc will represent the Knysna municipality and oppose the application.

According to Hudspith, the municipality’s decision contravenes at least 15 of its own regulations and bylaws, and at least one set of provincial regulations - and also ignores an overwhelming number of objections from the public.

"I will state once more that the majority of Knysna residents respect the rights for the Muslim community to have a place in Knysna to worship and meet, but the proposed area is what we are objecting to," says Hudspith.

He did however say it was very disappointing that at the time the council closed the deal with the Muslim Council, none of the residents in this petition had been invited to meet with the Muslim community to discuss their concerns, and had had no contact with any members of the Knysna municipality or municipal council since then.

There are now some 1 504 residents who have signed this petition to stop the mosque from being built in Rawson Street.

In previous statements, Hudspith and businesspeople supporting the move to stop the mosque being built where it is, have stated that costs will not stop them and should it be necessary they will by paying the costs all the way to the high court.

Their objections are: the land, which was originally zoned for single residential use, and which has as its neighbours blocks of flats and private homes, has now been reclassified as an institutional zone.

The relaxations allowed by the municipality include the following:
• Permission to erect a dome of 15,2m and minarets of 17m high, despite the fact that the zoning scheme regulations forbid the construction of buildings taller than 12m;
• Permission to build up to the rear and side boundaries of the property, despite regulations that require 6m building lines; and

• The provision of only eight parking bays, despite the fact that the regulations require one bay per five seats or 60 bays for a mosque designed to accommodate 300 people.

“The municipality intends getting around the parking question by allowing the congregation to park on public ground on the corner of Rawson and Hedge streets despite the objections of its own officials, who have stated that the land is required for the provision of municipal services,” said Hudspith. "If they’re going to alienate that land, this has to be done via a transparent tender process. They can’t just give it away."

Elaine Schoeman, an owner of property in Rawson Street for over 10 years, stresses that the decision made by the residents of this area and other Knysna homeowners is one that has "absolutely nothing to do with politics, race or religion:".

"The same concerns would apply if, for instance, any business with major traffic or parking requirements was involved. Even existing traffic is problematic in Rawson Street. Can we please move past this thought of politics or religion. The problem is one of common sense regarding traffic and due diligence in this regard,” she said.

Members agree that the Muslim community should have a mosque, but just not in Rawson Street.

The application is aimed at directing the Knysna municipality to apply the correct procedures and to conform to the principle of legality in applications of this nature, stress the 22 Rawson Street Homeowners.

The Muslim Council in conjunction with the municipality did, they say, try to meet every public objection raised during the planning application - including having the “Athan” prayer usually held over a loudspeaker without a loudspeaker on Fridays.

When comment was sought from the Muslim Council this week, the Knysna-Plett Herald was told they have legal representation and have been advised not to speak to the media.