Is this working?

Can people hear me or no?

Yes, through the microphone.

Good morning, thank you.

One minute in here.

Okay.

Copies of the letters that were submitted?

I do.

I got an addition.

I have six last night.

So I have copies.

And I do have copies.

Oh, okay.

Do you want to have the chance?

830.

Uh good morning.

Uh this is the Syracuse Landmarks Preservation Board meeting of May 14th, 2026.

Present at the meeting area.

Hello.

Howard Trish, Robert's hearing.

Nicole Fragnito.

Kyle Gregory.

Julia Marshall.

Jeff Romano.

Hillary Donahue.

The attorney.

And Kate Oeter.

Preservation order.

May I have a motion to accept the minutes of April 23rd, 2026?

So moved.

Is there a second?

I second.

Any modifications to the minutes?

All in favor uh of the minutes is submitted.

I any opposition, any abstentions?

The minutes are adopted.

We will now be um conducting a public meeting, and I will be recusing myself from the public meeting.

And Jeff Romano will be leading.

I will also be recusing myself from the good morning, everybody.

Uh the board will now conduct a public hearing on today's agenda.

First, the applicant or the applicant's representative will be invited to describe the proposed scope of work and to present any material or documentation regarding the proposal to the board.

Next, persons wishing to speak in favor of the proposal will be given the opportunity to address the board.

Then persons who wish to speak in opposition to the proposal will be allowed to address the board.

Following public comment, the board may vote to approve, approve with conditions, or deny the application as heard.

The board may also decide to hold its decision until the next public hearing.

If the hearing is closed, no additional information will be allowed into the record except for the information the board may request.

That information will be available for public review with the board staff.

Staff will now introduce the first application.

It's a certificate of appropriateness.

With me is representing all of the standard second.

Do I just go to the overall site plan and start there?

Okay.

Um I guess we've um submitted to the city of Syracuse for four separate actions.

One is this action by the landmark preservation board.

We are also looking for site plan approval and subdivision approval from the city planning commission in a variance from the ZVA board.

Um we will be the uh we're we're looking to propose a 3600 square foot addition that's shown in the orange, and then we would be expanding the parking and driveway so that we would have a one-way circulation from the south driveway through the site and exiting at the north driveway.

We'll be expanding the parking from roughly 22 spaces to 27 parking spaces.

We um the variants we we needed or we need are for this facility would require 20 or 67 parking spaces.

We will be only providing 27, so we'll need a variance between um for that, and we'll also need a variance for lot coverage.

The maximum lot coverage is 20 percent in this district, and we are around 38, 39 percent.

Uh per the code, we need to provide screening along the property line.

So we'll be providing a six-foot high solid fence along the north and east property lines.

We also have to provide landscaping um outside of the fence.

So we show what we show in the plan is the minimum required for landscaping.

We will offer to work with the adjoining homeowners to enhance that landscaping to um to provide um plantings that would um help to screen this facility.

Uh so I guess that's our high-level overview.

Um, I guess you could flip to the building additions.

I'm not an architect, and I don't pretend to be one, but uh Ben.

Oh, you want to look for the architect.

Uh come up to the mic, announce your name.

I'm Ben Larson, homeskin calculus architects.

Welcome.

Hi.

Sorry, I'm getting there.

There's a lot of site plans.

It's I was thinking almost there, I think.

Yeah, there's our plans.

You'd like the elevations?

Uh that would I think that would probably be more appropriate for what we need to talk about.

Um, so this is what we're proposing.

Um, this is uh addition, it is uh it comes in under the height restrictions for the uh site development areas.

Uh the schemes for this uh we would represent essentially the same color schemes that are existing on the building now, uh, along with some of the same motifs and materials.

Um it's it's pretty schematic at this point.

Uh so there are there is some room for um alteration, but uh it's it's I don't know.

It's it's pretty simple from from my standpoint.

I don't know if you guys have any questions about it.

Um it's it's still very schematic at this point, but uh you could go down to the image at the bottom.

That kind of represents uh how this addition would sit in the neighborhood.

It it looks to be about the same or average height of the other uh roof peaks around it.

Um it is highly screened by the existing trees on Comstock and the surrounding trees of the neighborhood, so it's it's not really that visible.

I've I tried to find a really good perspective to show this, and there really wasn't one from any of the Citicam street views because of the uh trees and foliage that are uh screening the site.

Okay, excuse me.

Would that conclude your presentation?

Thank you.

Uh I at this point I would ask for those wishing to speak in favor to come forward.

Yes, sir.

Step right up.

And if I can have your name and address for the record, please.

Yeah, um, Mohammed, I'm the president of Islam Society.

My helmet is 1515 Comstock of Circuit 13210.

Um, you've heard the uh architect and code presentation here, but I'm gonna tell you the need for this.

Okay.

This is purely so we can offer a proper funeral service.

The current building doesn't have it.

It's not accommodating for our women, our seniors.

So this addition at some point must have to have this proper uh funeral service.

Um it's hard to maneuver between different populations up and down when we have the funeral.

And our funeral, if you must know, it's communal.

That's mean every community member is invited.

And we're not losing every every day one.

Uh once a month, maybe two, sometimes a break three months.

So it's there's a need for it.

I do understand uh the question about the traffic.

We are moving our Friday adherence to a different space, but for a funeral, it has to be done there.

Again, we're doing this for a proper funeral service, and I hope we can achieve that.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Anyone else here wishing to speak in favor of the proposal?

Please say okay.

Yeah.

Uh thank you very much.

My name is Abdulaziz Shifa.

I live at uh 608 Crawford Av.

Uh I am a member of the uh the mosque community, uh, and also I am a faculty member at uh Syracuse University.

I would like to you know uh put in perspective the significance of this mosque uh to Syracuse and also to the area.

Uh historically, in terms of community service, even in terms of property values.

Historically, this is the first mosque in the city.

It's not just a mosque.

It's it's a historical landmark.

Uh in terms of community service, it has been very, very important.

Uh in the earlier days, it was built uh because there was a need uh mostly from Syracuse students, uh SU students and in Alumunaya also.

Uh just Friday, we had a graduation dinner for some of SU graduates uh who have been part of our community community, you know, volunteering, doing a lot of stuff in the community.

And it is so significant.

Uh just to share with you what one one of the students said.

Uh he said, you know, he went through a lot of stuff, and he would have quit his study has had it not been for the strength he got from his faith and in the support uh from from the community.

So it's an you know uh a very important uh uh community service and historically also something that we should all be uh proud of.

Uh finally about property values.

We live in the area.

I live a mile from uh that mosque.

Dr.

Mohammed Lee does the same, brother Mesad, Dr.

Khatar does the same, and and we are living in the community, investing in the community, uh and and you know, helping the community grow stronger uh and and you know support uh property value.

So, in many ways, this is something that's contributing to the community, and then I hope uh we all we all we all we all support it.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Anyone else here to speak in favor of the proposal?

Okay.

Sorry.

Thank you.

Good morning, everyone.

Good morning.

My name is Mohammed Qater.

I lived in this community.

We started in I came here in 1982 when this mosque was built.

This mosque, as it was mentioned, there was nothing else for this community.

The community was very small, and we started to grow over the years.

We had we started with about maybe 40, 50 people praying, and now it grew now.

We have close to 200 people in in the same space.

So it's as was mentioned before.

This is not for the prayer because when we realized as a community that our community is growing, we bought another place on in in Anondaga town, town of Anandaga, and with a previous church that we uh purchased, and we realized that we cannot continue as a community growing that much, and we be in the same space.

And as it was mentioned by Dr.

Mohammed, that it is not, we're not doing this to have because we already started.

We moved our prayers to the the uh the place or the space, the new church or the older church in uh on a town of Onondaga.

So what we're doing now is just to have, as was mentioned again, I'm not gonna restate it for the funeral services, and that's important.

We had different issues with funeral homes because of the way we want to bury our dead, we have to bury him right away.

We cannot really wait for a few days or sometimes weeks, so it has to be done as soon as possible.

And that's one the main reason that we're asking for this extension.

Thank you.

Okay.

Now I wish I'll ask for wishings wishing to speak in opposition to the proposal come forward.

Actually, before you start that, um, can I just ask how many people here are here to speak in opposition to how many people will come and speak is the question.

Seven.

So limit uh can we keep our comments to about a three-minute maximum, please.

Uh Deborah Bandolin, I'm gonna speak loud because I can't hear when these people are speaking.

Um I am a little shaky because I've only had three hours' sleep because I'm taking care of my 92-year-old mother's health problems.

And the dumpster this morning woke me up at five o'clock when I had just gotten to sleep.

Um I live in the house in the bottom corner.

I just spent over a hundred thousand dollars to restore it accurately.

Um now I learn that this giant building is that is not just from the picture, you can tell it's not the character of the neighborhood, and it is not what they said when they bought the property.

So I'm going to read this.

We live at 931 Comstock Avenue.

It is the second house south of the mosque.

We have lived with and can verify the various problems that Rex, Gardean, Tom Sherman, Stephanie Bartley, and other Berkeley Park residents have outlined.

We strongly object to not only an expansion but the transformation of a student center to a funeral power parlor.

No organization expands for less people.

The Islamic cemetery across the street is the size of a yard, and it is pretty full.

The occasional funerals result in a hearse sitting in front of our driveway waiting for the proceedings, occasionally.

That's fine.

The idea that a hearse will be sitting in front of and blocking our driveway several times a week is not acceptable.

The fact that these funerals are not for this cemetery, there's no room there.

It is it's more gall galling.

This is not in keeping with the historic residential neighbor nature of the neighborhood.

The mosque now owns what was designated as four residential lots.

The four residential lots to the south, which is to the right, are owner-occupied.

The same um, and it's occupied by 12 people in six cars.

So the same amount of space that the mosque is on, it's 12 people in six cars in this preservation neighborhood.

Um the mosque on just a normal time has um uh in the same space has crammed two to three hundred cars with at least one person per car, but mostly it's families getting out of the car, so it's a lot more than one person per car.

And then when there's a celebration or a uh holiday or something, it triples in size.

The noise, the traffic accidents, the litter, the blocked driveways, the flooded street drains, the dumpsters, the coke machines, and the dumpsters do bring rats.

I see them run through the peonies.

And the neighbor that used to live in the house exactly next to him used to call the city for that because the dumpster was not there originally.

Now it's there.

And this morning it woke everybody up.

Um, and they had to put a uh top on it, but there's still problems with it.

45 seconds.

What?

Yeah, 45 seconds.

Pardon?

45 seconds.

Oh the coke machines, the tents, the fire code violations, the illegal parking, illegal standing, buses, trucks, vehicles.

Not in keeping with the original peaceful park-like residential.

They have a single, they were those uh this.

This is supposed to be grass.

This and this.

And they put open pavers there so they could park there.

They were supposed to originally just have a single driveway to the back and stop.

Over the years, on the weekends, they have paved to the point where all of this is paved and they built this little building.

Um just on the weekends.

There is a six-foot fence here.

I can see everything.

All the lights shine in seven rooms of my house.

There is no privacy.

This looks like it it does, it doesn't, but these trees are very tall.

You can see everything.

I see everything.

One more thing.

They've already affected the nature and value of the housing in its vicinity.

I know for a fact that the previous owner on the left hand side.

Or um, yeah, on the previous owner of my house left because of problems with the mosque.

I found out after we bought the house, and the pre the owner on the other side left because of them buying that property, and they just had a baby and they were a young family and did not want to have the child grow up next to a parking lot.

There's more to it.

I have copies.

Did you submit that?

You submitted that letter this morning.

Okay.

I um we have copies.

But we can I can tell you more.

Thank you very much.

Introduce yourself for the record, please.

Rex Jardine, 112 Circle Road.

Probably share the most property with the mosque.

I'm an architect and an engineer and a neighbor.

Three minutes.

I understand.

You have my eight pages.

I'll just hit some highlights and go off script.

Thank you.

Um I frequently get before this board and frequently argue for progress balance with preservation.

So this is not my first time here.

Parking is obviously an issue.

Um this shift to Jamesville is great.

It's verbal.

We have not seen it.

Three weeks of monitoring parking, and I don't know how long Jamesville's open.

We do not see a reduction in parking.

It's now in the neighborhood because it's no longer in the cemetery.

Materials proposed.

The original mosque was built of modest materials.

Ribbed concrete block.

I could not build a retaining wall and get approval to use that block.

Stucco on styrofoam.

Is this in fact a moss-shaped block of styrofoam?

This is the material covered in stucco.

Proposed.

It is the cheapest material money can buy.

Proper onion dome would be uh elegant sheet metal, carefully crafted.

Fiberglass is for amusement parks.

Lot coverage with pavement.

We live next to a parking lot.

Thank you.

Um they raise their grades along the eastern edge to the detriment of my property.

Lower the grades or lower my property taxes.

Thank you.

Survey, lots of errors.

42-inch sewer missing.

Don't know when that shed was built.

It's kind of tough sheds would be better.

That's kind of a uh a thing.

Absolutely right on dumpsters, overflow at the holidays.

Rats, real rats.

Got into my house.

Thank you.

Mature trees, important in Berkeley Park.

Um, they're basically taking down many of them, and the neighbors correct.

Many of these trees don't have branches to get up quite high.

The fence, I see the B side of a fence.

It is not light tight or sight tight.

I literally have lights streaming into four of my five bedrooms.

It looks like I live next to a mini mart.

Open 24-7.

Views, noise, and trespass.

Um, we hear this at night.

We don't open our windows typically, but if we sat in our backyard or opened our windows, we would hear everything.

So it's car alarms, car beeps, you know, loud voices.

Thankfully, it's not amplified party noise.

Stormwater.

My neighborhood is overwhelmed with a stormwater of upstream landlords who've paved parking lots in their backyards, side yards, wherever.

Um, they should all be brought to be responsible for their pavement.

So I watch a manhole chatter because it cannot handle the load in front of my house.

Um, dangerous as heck.

I told my kids never ever go near it.

The mosque is adding more pavement.

You've you're at your three minutes, so if you could conclude, please.

Um again.

And we do have your the entire thank you, read them and my graphics.

So I I strongly oppose this.

It's hurting my property value.

My basement is wetter than it ought to be, and so is my property.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next person wishing to speak in opposition to the proposal, please step forward.

Good morning, name and address for the record, please.

Good morning.

My name is Jody Epton.

I live at 108 Circle Road for the record.

I'm not necessarily I'm opposed to this current version of the expansion.

Um for 10 years I've been a homeowner at 108 Circle, which is the middle of the three properties at the back of the proposed mosques expansion, um, and therefore among the properties most impacted by the plan.

My concerns are threefold.

Uh I can't fully evaluate the current plan as apparent errors and missing information make it difficult to follow.

Two, the destruction of the tree line and vegetation along the property line would severely impact the historic nature and use of my home.

And three, the mass and scale of the building would also have a severe negative impact on the historic preservation neighborhood.

Um, as for errors, I'm not an engineer or an architect, and therefore I don't have any technical expertise, but I am an editor.

So when I see a picture of the northeast boundary labeled as southeast, I have questions.

And when I see eight cedars labeled for removal, when there are 17 at that fence line and other very old pines that are not included, I wonder what other items might be incomplete.

And all of this makes it difficult to fully evaluate the plan.

As noted, my primary concern is the destruction of old growth trees and vegetation that provide privacy and noise mitigation and contribute to the horse historic look and feel of the neighborhood.

By my count under the current plan, at least 18 very old trees would be removed.

Another pine that crosses our property line, well over 100 years old, which likely predates our historic house, would likely be lost within a few years by construction and soil compaction, according to a tree expert we've consulted.

Another two old pines just inside our property line would also be with uh at risk within a few years.

This is especially imperative during Syracuse's very long winters when the cedars and pines provide the only privacy as well as noise and artificial light mitigation.

My other concern is the size of the project and the closeness to our yard.

With a 40-foot dome, the expansion would loom over our backyard.

The additional concrete would greatly increase noise from a parking lot that would be less than 10 feet from our back patio, and restored circle garden and fountain.

And in what I emailed to you, I have a picture of the historic diagram from our original owner that we have restored.

Having such a massive non-contributing structure in the historic district would have a significant negative impact on our house by increasing noise, decreasing privacy, blocking light, and generally changing the character and view of the entire western portion of the preservation district.

My husband and I had a productive meeting with uh Dr.

Mohammed two weeks ago, and he assured us of his interest in finding a way to make the project more amenable to neighbors.

He offered to save the line of cedar trees and to pay for a tree consultant of our choosing to find a way to preserve the historic tree that sits on the property line.

We very much appreciate that he listened to our concerns.

However, because none of these items are actually reflected on the plan or the updated plan, I'm unclear what that current status might be.

I want the mosque community to thrive, but this project, as I understand it, will have a severe negative impact on the historic character and use of our 100-year-old house and neighborhood.

The most problematic features, in my opinion, of the plan do not improve funeral services for the mosque, and they add fewer than 10 parking spaces, which doesn't seem like a reasonable trade-off given the impact on the historic neighborhood.

I feel certain with better accuracy and more consideration of the impact on the historic nature of the neighborhood.

A scaled back version of the plan, especially in that back part, um, could be achieved.

And until those issues are more transparently addressed, I don't support this expansion.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next person.

Hello, Mike Stanton, 315 Berkeley Drive.

In 1979, when the Syracuse Planning Commission approved the construction of the mosque on Comstock, it was built, they said, to accommodate 108 worshippers.

At that time, a spokesperson for the mosque said that Friday prayer services would draw, quote, 30 to 80 worshippers, most of whom would walk to and from the mosque.

In just the 10 years from 2000 to 2020, the Islamic Society said the number of Muslims living in Anodoga County more than doubled, from 3,109 to 6,566.

A more recent estimate puts the figure at over 10,000.

Today, four to five hundred cars descend on Comstock every Friday.

The mosque has simply outgrown this location.

And Islamic Society leaders have long understood that the expansion of the Comstock site is not a feasible solution.

In 2007, Imam Mohammed Gator told Syracuse.com that the Islamic Society had been looking for a new site to expand, quote, because the community has outgrown the Comstock Avenue Mosque.

Until a few weeks ago, the Islamic Society webpage said this about expansion of the mosque on Comstock.

Quote, expansion of the existing building was not seen as a viable solution to the inadequate space for worshippers, congested parking, crossing a busy street to access the masjid, accessibility, lack of classrooms, lack of recreational space space, and other concerns of a growing community.

Expansion of the current mosque isn't a viable solution.

It all would also be extremely detrimental to the Berkeley Park Historic District.

Berkeley Park District was created just to was not created just to preserve the historic architecture.

It is also to preserve the district's park-like setting to quote the Berkeley Park Design Guidelines, quote.

Retaining the historic character of landscape features in the Berkeley Park is central to retaining the historic character of the entire district.

That's why property owners in the Berkeley Park Historic District must get approval not only for changes to our houses, but also addition to remove and uh but also for the addition or removal of significant trees, shrubbery, and other landscape features.

Allowing the 40% driveway coverage in the Islamic Society proposal would significantly undermine the character of the Berkeley Park Historic District, and covering 40% of the site with asphalt would only result in 29 parking spaces, only two more than what they have today.

Creating 67 parking spaces, the number required by code, given the size of the expanded building, would require covering more than half of the site.

But even 67 parking spaces wouldn't come close to accommodating the four to five hundred cars that arrive every Friday, and the estimated two to three hundred cars that would arrive monthly for funeral services.

Fortunately, the Islamic Society has already acquired two large parcels of land, just an eight-minute drive from the Comstock Mosque in Jamesville.

The smaller of these two lots, the former First Baptist Church, also includes a large vacant building.

Two weeks ago, the Islamic Society started holding Friday prayer services there to take pressure off the Comstock Mosque.

Here are some of the comparisons of the current mosque and the new Jamesville site.

Mike, I'm sorry, your your your time is up.

So could you wrap it up?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay.

Yes, and and the uh uh Mr.

Standon's uh Mike Standon's comments are part of the the packet of comments that you'll receive.

Um that I I continue to receive comments up until about 4 a.m.

this morning.

So just so the audience knows that the board has not had the opportunity to review those yet.

So we were up late.

Yeah.

My name is Stephanie Bartling.

I live at 117 Circle Road.

When my husband and I moved to Syracuse 27 years ago, our realtor kept taking us to the suburbs.

I repeated no land, uh less land and more character.

Finally, we drove down Circle Road where I saw kids riding bikes, neighbors out, and maintained historic homes.

We raised three kids on Circle Road, achieving what I hoped for.

My children attended diverse city schools within a caring, vibrant neighborhood.

The mosque is an outlier.

As a large non-residential organization, it has outgrown its original plan several times over and impacted neighborhood quality of life.

When the mosque bought the extra lot, we met with leadership who reassured us that the space would only be used for recreation.

We shared our concerns with them, including Vern Nesbitt, the then owner of the house behind the mosque, who talked about how when the mosque was built, water flooded her basement, ruining an original rec room.

Vern also spoke about rats-noise lights from the mosque.

We all agreed that no one wanted more of these issues with an addition.

Soon after the mosque brought in major equipment to clear lot gardens, a stop order was issued, but the damage was already done.

Soon after that, the mosque brought in major um uh parked in that parking lot, which violated the residential designation, and the city had to intercede.

The negative impact of the mosque remains, especially for close uh neighbors with no good workarounds.

The mosque operates at all hours, especially during religious holidays, and sounds of car door slamming and groups of people gathering and playing outside traveled to us on circle.

When raising my children, I got up usually at midnight, maybe 4 a.m.

to close doors windows.

From the past three weeks, Fridays, I recorded traffic and parking issues on Comstock cars parallel parked and do five-point turns, stopping traffic, including buses going both ways.

Pedestrians cross everywhere and walk in the street.

I hear some Fridays, cars park on both sides of Comstock, although that hasn't happened recently.

Preventing vehicle emergency vehicles from getting through.

The first Friday, 322 cars parked in the neighborhood, including 170, 187 in the cemetery.

These cars double parked, leaving a foot of clearance between cars and parked over grass and plots.

The second Friday, despite closed cemetery doors, gates, and encouragement to go to Jamesville.

Still, 245 cars came.

So there's been really no dent in that decrease in cars because of going to Janesville yet.

Last week there were three 283 cars of the 87 cars that were parked with permission to attend a funeral.

Really, only 20 cars attended that funeral.

So they were really using it for parking.

On area streets, cars parked over driveways, sidewalks, easements, blocked fire hydrants, double parked and expanded to Circle Road, and even parked in personal residential parking.

The mosque is clearly overwhelmed with demand, and the cemetery and neighborhood bear the brunt of this cost.

With the when the mosque was built, they didn't envision their massive membership increase.

While they don't expect more increases, by expanding their property, they increase potential capacity.

The damage to the neighborhood will repeat, but on a greater and more irreversible scale.

The neighborhood is a hidden gem.

Historic preservation exists to uh protect places exactly like this, and I ask you to reject this expansion proposal.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next.

So we've eaten there.

Um our kids have played with them when they've had festivals, have gone there.

Um we're really grateful for for their kindness.

Um there also are our problems.

I was woken this morning to about 5 a.m.

by the dumpster.

Um, and I think when we first moved here, our daughter had a high lead test uh reading, and we came here wanting to change our windows, and we're finding that we were gonna have to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars to to have windows that complied with the district.

And when we paint our house, we have to submit the color of our house uh to the board for approval.

So I can understand how this is even possibly a proposal that would fit within our historic district and within the nature um of our house.

And this would go directly up to our home or our property line, cut down the trees that are providing shelter and to our yard.

It would shine lights onto our yard dramatically changing the nature of our house.

Um, and um it doesn't feel like a process that's included us in the in the thought in the development.

I'm glad they're doing it now.

Um, but wish they'd come to us first.

Um, but really just to me seem so out of line with the idea that we were here trying to change our windows for our daughter who had a high lead test uh reading when this is just uh uh just another just totally out of the ballpark of what we were talking about then.

So I I'm grateful for them as neighbors really want there to be good places for worship.

Um, and also this feels this feels problematic to me.

Thank you.

Thank you.

If we pass that around, sure.

Take a look at the graphics.

Just pass them by.

These are the board members, yeah.

So I'm Don Peters, I live on Circle Road.

I provide written comments to this board regarding plans submitted to the Islamic Society.

Thank you.

Yeah, uh, I provide written comments to this board regarding the plans submitted by the Islamic Society for the expansion on Comstock Avenue.

In addition to those comments, I would like to add this concern with parking impacts in the historic district.

Approximately 250 to 300 cars typically park in the vicinity of the mosque for the Friday afternoon prayer.

Stop for a moment, 300 cars, 300 people in the in the in the organization, 300 members, don't create 300 cars.

Okay.

Since Oakwood Cemetery no longer provides parking for the Islamic Society, patrons find parking along Comstock Avenue, which is posted no parking.

Park on both sides of Stratford Street, park in the Cal de Sag and Call Circle Road, and park without permission on private property on Acorn Path.

To graphically understand the impact, there's the graphic on Berkeley Park Historic District.

300 cars parallel parked along a curb at 20 foot intervals would require 6,000 linear feet or 1.14 miles.

The Google map that I provided there, edited map, illustrates only 3900 linear feet of parking on one side of Comstock and Stratford at Stratford Street.

If off-site parking was an option, a parking lot for 300 cars would require approximately half to two-thirds of the lot adjacent to the SU Comstock R facility.

Again, on that graphic, if you look.

If no off-site parking is provided in the police enforced, no parking on Comstock in the bike lanes, and parking only on one side of the street on all the streets, then every street within the historic district, approximately, which is about 5,900 linear feet, not even 6,000, every street would have to be filled with cars.

That said, this site will never accommodate enough parking as required by zoning, stay below the lock coverage restrictions, and clearly never meet the Islamic society's actual needs.

300 members.

300 cars.

They each come with one in a car.

There's more than 300 members.

It will negatively impact the safety and character of the of the historic neighborhood, and therefore should not be approved.

Expanding the building will only allow more people to attend the services and further impact an already strange situation.

And I'd also like to weigh in on the vegetation there that what you see of those trees that are blocking the building.

These are all slated for removal.

Okay.

So that's a little bit of misunderstanding on that graphic alone.

There are many inconsistencies on all of the plans.

And the height is not correct if you view it from the very property.

I think my three minutes is up.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And your name and address for the records.

Greetings to the board.

I apologize.

I sent my note really early this morning, so you probably didn't receive it.

There are three reasons why I would urge the board to reject the application for the certificate of appropriateness.

One historic protection, two historic protection, three, historic protection.

Previous speakers have already addressed the building concern.

The building is a non-contributing structure, and expanding 10,000, 10,000 is what they listed square feet, is indeed increasing the non-contributing structure in a historic preservation district.

The second reason, landscaping.

Others have spoken about it.

Parking is needed.

And therefore, we will be living next to a parking lot.

It provides services, a soccer field, youth camps, community dinners, and it also plans to establish a cemetery.

From what I understand, the location does provide viable spots for graves, because the area, according to the U.S.

Geological Survey, does have what they call glacial till.

And it also would be in areas, excuse me, that will avoid the watershed as well as the limestone rockery.

Therefore, given that the society plans to build a cemetery, it really makes the funeral services at the current site moot.

If the board should approve the expansion and the cemetery at the Jamesville location is viable according to the geological survey, then it leaves a proverb, a proverbial saltum in a historic neighborhood.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Anyone else wishing to speak against the proposal?

Please come up to Mike and introduce yourself with your name and address, please.

Good morning.

My name is Chris Capella Peters, and I live on Circle Road.

I have over 45 years of professional experience in urban design and historic preservation, and I am the co-author of a principal section of the Secretary of the Interior Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, the applicable guide in reviewing this proposal, which unfortunately appears to have been developed without any consideration of these standards.

There are three primary preservation concerns: the proposed building size, the extent of paved area, and the landscape treatment.

And I apologize for repeating some of what you already heard, but I think it's important.

Regarding building size, the current structure already is larger than any other building in the historic district, and the proposed footprint would more than double that mass.

Portions of the building would be 40 feet in height or effectively four stories tall at the back of the property, inappropriately dwarfing the adjacent historic buildings.

These changes, along with the loss of historic vegetation, would also allow the building to dominate views within the district, primarily from properties along Circle Road and Berkeley Drive, as well as increase its prominence on Comstock Gab, making a non-contributing property more visually apparent is not in keeping with the Secretary's standards.

Regarding pavement, by its very nature, a non-contributing property adversely alters the historic setting of its neighbors, and any changes to it must not further degrade that context.

But the proposed paving would remove the last vestiges of the site's residential landscape and erase the historic setting of the contiguous properties.

And that is also contrary to the standards.

In addition, the historic boundary vegetation on these adjacent properties will be lost immediately or certainly over time due to soil compaction related to paving.

And again, this is all inconsistent with the standards.

And one last thing regarding pavement.

Given the physical constraints, the applicant cannot provide the nearly 300 parking spaces necessary for funeral services or Friday congregational prayer, nor can they provide even the 67 spaces called for by the zoning ordinance.

In fact, no number of on-site spaces can begin to address either actual need or zoning concerns.

Therefore, it is not unreasonable to significantly decrease the amount of proposed pavement to yield a more preservation appropriate solution.

Regarding the landscape, properties in the historic district were developed with and continue to have expansive lawns, planting beds, hedgerows, and tree canopies.

This proposal eliminates the property's most significant open space, leaving only a small lawn in its place, and the balance of the property would also not have any discernible design.

This simplistic treatment fails to even approximate the district's historic or existing landscape condition, and again is inconsistent with the secretary's standards.

I've also in written form provided comments regarding concerns and building materials, the perimeter fence, and plants, lighting, and dumpsters.

But most importantly, I'd like to leave you with this.

Of all of these identifies all of these identified negative impacts, must be addressed in concert, for it is their cumulative effect that has to be mitigated.

Eliminating a few parking spaces or planting a handful of trees will not sufficiently reduce the project's overall adverse impact.

But comprehensive revisions that meet the Secretary's standards might.

And thereby will allow the board to meet its obligations under the zoning ordinance and avoid a negative declaration pursuant to seeker.

I asked the board to seek such revisions before acting.

Thank you.

Anyone else wishing to speak against the proposal?

Please come forward.

State your name and address for the record, please.

Good morning.

My name is Matt Kisling.

Um with my wife Jody Upton, we reside right behind the proposed expansion of the mosque and right behind the mosque itself.

I wanted just to reiterate one or two points very quickly.

Our property is shared with the Islamic Society of Central New York for 10 years.

They've been good neighbors.

We've enjoyed the joyful noises of the kids playing pick-up soccer and basketball and love to be reminded that it's Ramadan.

As we anticipate this building expansion, we really appreciate Dr.

Mohammed's willingness to meet with us specifically before he met with the entire uh community a couple of weeks ago.

We talked about our concerns directly with Mr.

Mohammed.

Um, and the things that I would like to bring to your attention is that our backyard right behind the mosque is significantly lower than the pavement as it is.

And if you're talking about a dome that's 40 feet up in the air, it's going to loom over.

It's going to stop light from coming into our backyard.

And the second thing that I really want to stress about the flora and the fauna.

My wife shared with you a historic garden that was designed that she reclaimed.

The pond was re-established.

We have a lovely little space that's been negatively impacted because National Grid came through in the easement and took away some of the branches.

So as you see these trees right here, this does not show what we see.

And the thing that I really want to stress, if you can look at that one picture that I added, that picture shows the light that shines straight into our backyard.

That's from my back porch.

As I step outside, I took that picture so that you could understand how that light impacts us at night.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Anyone else here wishing to speak against the proposal?

Please come forward at this time.

Porth a written submission regarding principally the traffic involved around our neighborhood.

And uh we live at 122 uh Dorset Road, and uh we actually have parking at effects.

Uh our neighborhood over spill from the events uh primarily on the Fridays.

Um we submitted I've basically been crossing Comstock at Stratford uh to go to the university, which was my employment, uh, and essentially have been risking my life at various degrees.

Uh I've had many standops with uh frustrated drivers.

Uh that that intersection uh just uh to the north of uh of the mosque is um is is incredibly vital and it in and in parallel has been expanding in in terms of the amount of volume of traffic.

So frustrated motorists uh in that area have been very concerning to me uh personally.

Um but I I think generally our submission is to um uh while we appreciate and it's been it's been fascinating to learn about uh the activity to activities at the mosque, and including the burial situation.

Um we really have had a real problem in terms of the generation and energy and hostility of the drivers um largely because of congestion on these on these major events.

And it it really is um uh it is not safe to cross Comstock to go over to the cemetery side at any at any point.

Um but it is remarkably dangerous uh at that uh at that uh at their at their feature time.

So I I object to the uh uh to the proposal on the basis that to improve a situation who is that is already direct some attractiveness uh to uh this large community, uh which I respect.

And I I really I have to say that I honestly uh have felt very favorable having a mosque in my neighborhood.

I just uh think it's just gotten to the point where it's uh completely insane, and I don't understand exactly the planning of the Islamic community to essentially um you know feature this burial, other than the proximity to the limited burial uh area uh across the street from the mosque.

So I'm um I'm against the proposal on the basis of uh uh not only potentially but I think certainly increasing the the uh the problems of parking and and the danger of the traffic in in the neighborhood.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Gary Engelhart 117 Circle Road.

I just want to talk about uh two things.

Parking is the first one.

So it's kind of funny listening to this discussion because you know uh Berkeley Park was built before there were automobiles.

It is not a neighborhood that is was designed for automobiles.

If you look at our house, which was built in 1917, we have a driveway, it's certainly not built for an automobile, it's very narrow, it's up on a it's up on uh uh uh with a retaining wall.

So this is a neighborhood that is fundamentally not designed for automobiles, and and the parking problem, as many people have talked about, is a real problem.

So if you take if you take 300 cars, uh which is what it's been the a lot the the last last few weeks, uh you're you're parked up and down Comstock and on Stratford Avenue.

Uh and th those are no parking zones.

I don't know why.

If there's a formal, if there's a formal exemption from the city or if it's just a look the other way.

But nobody else can park, nobody else can get to park in our neighborhood like that.

When SUS football games or basketball games are graduations, cones are put out.

We can't park there.

We have contractors can't park, they get ticketed.

We have contractors, everybody will say this.

Contractors, nannies, home health aids, cleaning cleaning services.

They can't park, they all get ticketed.

In fact, I've gotten ticketed on our street.

I took out the garbage.

I moved the car to the street to take out the garbage, went inside for to get something, came back out, and I had a ticket.

And what did I do?

I paid it.

Okay.

You cannot park anywhere in our neighborhood.

So why is there parking allowed uh for uh for uh uh services at the mosque that exceeds the parking capacity?

Okay.

That's I mean, and that's the reality.

Parking, there's parking and as as as Don Peters said, there's parking that's on circle road, they're parking at the top of the circle, that's not allowed.

They're parking in private private spots on Acorn Path.

It's it's it simply is not to scale.

And if we strip this back, we don't use the label of a mosque.

Okay, let's call it past times, okay.

Pastime wants to expand.

And they don't have enough parking, right?

And we we're not in uh we're not in a historic neighborhood.

We're in any neighborhood.

Would we think this was appropriate to allow uh building of a building that would uh would require 300 on-street parking spaces that do not exist.

Okay.

Layer on top of that that it's a historic neighborhood.

Okay, it this seems just like it's a non-starter.

Um other thing about about uh funeral services.

So as a rough approximation, people die every day of the week, right?

So uh if the service has to be within 24 hours, there would be there would be funeral services every day of the week.

If we believe this is exclusively going to be used for funerals, then we would expect that you know funerals would be dispersed throughout the different days of the week.

We would not expect that there would be certain that there would be a funeral every Friday.

So if we really believe it's it's funeral services, there shouldn't be any Friday services.

If it's exclusively for funerals, but we should believe that there are going to be there are going to be uh uh services throughout the week when when that does happen.

Thank you.

Anyone else here wishing to speak in opposition to the proposal?

Okay, thank you.

Um I'd like to take a minute here to let the applicant respond how they see fit to some of these comments if they wish representative.

Yeah, Ed Kaplinger again.

I just have a couple minor items based upon the comments that I heard.

Um and I don't have an order to these, but uh, there was some comments about the parking in the front yard uh as part of the approval uh or as part of the the plan the uh permeable pavers will be removed at the south driveway entrance.

That'll be restored to lawn.

Uh there'll be no parking at the north entrance.

Um lighting.

We can look at uh putting lighting on timers.

Uh we plan to do low um low-level lighting um so that you know whatever is minimum for safety.

Uh drainage.

Our drainage intent is to accept that drainage that comes onto the property, and we'll treat it as part of our stormwater management plan.

Um the stormwater management plan will be reviewed by the city engineer uh for approval, but we're expecting because we're increasing uh previous surfacing that we would have to do some type of stormwater facility, and it would be subsurface, it would be in a liner, so that there would be no um off site drainage impacts.

Uh the we understand there's a 4D two-inch pipe uh that goes under that portion of this site.

We've had some um coordination between our surveyor and the city departments to locate that, uh, but that would be shown on a uh the survey that that would be resubmitted.

Uh, there was also some comments about uh cemetery, a remote cemetery uh in Onadaga.

Uh while there is a desire for a cemetery, the likelihood of that cemetery is not great just due to the um it has to be approved by the town of Anondaga, and it has to be in a certain zone.

Um, and the property that they purchased is not in a residential zone, or they have is not in a residential zone.

So it um so there's an uphill battle there.

Uh regarding tree removal, I think we can go through our plan.

We can identify trees that we could say that are shown as being removed.

I know there's at least uh two um at the North Driveway that we can um probably keep, and then I think there can be some discussion with the um with the Islamic society about other trees around the perimeter and eliminating parking and whatnot.

Um that could save additional trees.

So that's what I'd like to add.

Okay, thank you.

Hi, Ben Larson, Holmes Calquist.

Um I I I hear a lot of comments about parking.

Um, and that that is something that we are trying to address.

This is a growing facility uh because the membership is always a growing uh factor that most religious facilities are trying to deal with.

Um what I think we're not maybe understanding is that this facility has had uh almost 50 years of uh you know generations of burials happening in the cemetery that's adjacent.

There's a very historic and strong connection for um this community to maintain this facility.

Um and it it will maintain as a funerary funerary facility for the foreseeable future.

Um I I think that we can address the comments that have come in today.

I wish they had come in sooner.

Um we held uh a community uh review not what two weeks ago.

Uh much of this was raised, but not really in this manner.

So it'll be good to address this uh moving forward.

Um but this is a funerary facility.

The services have been moved off-site for Friday services.

Um and we're trying to be as sensitive as we possibly can.

We recognize that this is a historic district.

We recognize that there is a lot of traffic mitigation that needs to happen.

We recognize the light pollution concerns, and we will be specifying fixtures that address that with blinders on them to protect the neighborhood from any light washing.

Um but I I think the traffic concerns are not gonna go away.

The with 81 putting an exit off of the south of Comstock, that is going to become the main source of traffic through the area because Comstock will now be the south entrance to the campus from the highway.

Um, thank you.

Traffic for the mocks sits there.

Well, let me start by thanking all more members and thankful our neighbors for coming and expressing their concerns, and I believe all are manageable, but there's something that the neighbors I mentioned that two weeks ago, but the board should know as well.

It's gonna take a month or two to re to re change the culture of praying at ISNI for Friday.

And we're moving.

We we're doubled the number of uh uh uh the adherents who go to the gyms facility.

So give us some time.

You've been kind enough for 40 50 years.

Uh I ask you to extend your kindness for another month or two till we change the the pattern of uh Friday.

I see it, and I said that to you too.

You come to the time or Friday only few cars in the park a lot.

And again, as as uh Ben Larson said, we have connection historically with our deceased.

Um the when one individual die in a Muslim community, and that's true actually for all people who die, we feel it.

But when it comes to our own, it's a community level grievance that as this time we cannot provide unless we do this uh sort of extension for that service.

Yes, I I acknowledge, and I was told by my own people that the first day the cemetery locked their uh sort of shut their uh um their gates.

Of course.

The the people 300 cars got shocked.

They they don't manage that on the spot for 30 minutes.

We are there for 30 minutes.

He mentioned that we are committed as you uh to have their events which are longer than 30 minutes.

And yes, the city allowed us to punk Comstock and Stafford Avenue.

Okay.

That's a history.

People who've been here for long, they can tell you that.

And I hope they will never take this away after this uh sort of uh disagreement between us and uh between you and us expanding this.

Uh I don't see it happening to be honest with you.

Uh you're gonna be shocked shocking us like this.

I don't I don't I don't see the city does that.

So there are a few things.

I wish I knew about the rat issue, and I wish I knew about Dumpstar at five minutes the morning wake people up.

I swear I'll have them come later, even after extra for that company to do.

I would have done that.

When the lights were mentioned from the current building, I promise I'm gonna bring some rectus to fix that lot, and we're doing it.

So those minor issues that I've just accumulated accumulated.

I wish I knew about it, at least for the last three years when I was a president.

I would have addressed that on instantly.

We our neighbors have been good to us, and we're trying to be also still good neighbors to them as well.

Again, thank you for concerns, and I believe they all they're all manageable.

I erred the board to approve our expansion.

Thank you.

Okay, thank you very much.

Um at this time, we're going to close the public comment period.

Or I'm sorry.

We're gonna close the public comment so we can discuss.

We're gonna close the public comment period.

Public comment is closed if the board believes it has sufficient information testimony to move forward.

Excuse me.

Uh board, do we have any questions, clarifications from the presentation in the that we've just heard?

I have no questions.

I just want to state it.

I've been on the lemma preservation board for almost two years, and I've never seen this kind of outpouring from the public.

Um it seems to me that this proposed expansion is manifestly out of character for the neighborhood.

Um hearing all of the concerns from the folks that have lived in the neighborhood as well, seem to me to be uh evidence of that.

Uh as a board member on the LPB, I I feel like we are here to serve the the citizenry and the people in the Berkeley Historic District.

Um I don't live in the Berkeley Historic District, I live a few blocks away, but um the this just seems twice.

I mean it's twice as big.

Uh it sounds like there's a lot of concerns already, and it just said it to me is manifestly out of character for it.

So I don't think that I could you know we have any questions, comments of what we've seen.

We don't make a decision right now, but do we have any questions to the applicant?

Okay, um hearing no question, comment.

Um go ahead.

We don't have all of the comments.

Yeah, the so uh I would like to say that there that the board has not received all of the the comments yet, has not had the opportunity to review all of the comments.

Um obviously a lot of it was covered in the testimony today.

Um the um and and it sounds as though there are some issues that are definitely in flux.

Um the um it and and it sounds as though there are some issues that are definitely in flux um and uh whether or not the board um feels that it has sufficient information at this point um given that there are going to be some uh it sounds as though the applicant is willing to um provide some uh or or work with the community on some uh revisions in terms of lighting, landscaping and so forth, but but none of that is actually in your in your packet.

Right.

I was um my thought on this is I've I've heard a lot about uh size scale massing and lot coverage uh as a detrimental component to the historic district.

Um with testimony today, I personally I I'd like to better digest everything that's been submitted.

And um hearing that there's uh openness for additional conversation, um I would ask that we hold this open um until that additional information is submitted and digested, and we can then uh I feel as a board be able in a better position to uh make comment and move forward on the project.

That's how that's where I am, and that would be my recommendation.

What if we could hold this open?

And then if uh if you want to hold it open, then uh we'll need a motion and a second and then a vote.

Can I have one question actually?

Um was a smaller addition ever considered.

Um I know there were issues with accessibility.

Um it looks like you know, if you considered adding an elevator or some smaller addition um to manage that instead of doubling the square footage, was that ever looked at?

Can we speak in the microphone please?

Thank you.

I gotta speak to my board.

Um but we'll consider some modification.

I mean, we're not we're not that tragic when it comes to uh addressing whatever comments that came today.

Um the the uh addition elevator um might not cut for us.

The expansion is is going to eventually uh happen.

Uh if the board wants us to scale back, uh we'll we'll we'll open to discussing back and forth to make sure that me, the historical sort of um uh reservation for the the the area and hopefully uh address many of our neighbors' uh comments.

Uh we're open to that.

It's not like hey, this is it.

I mean we were open.

The the idea of that that sort of what is seen to be a large and obvious from the picture it is large is to accommodate and make make uh certainly this is what I'm interested in here.

I promise our sisters are a woman to to make them comfortable when they come to us right now.

They're not and the the area got to have to be for them, it's kind of must.

Uh but again, we're still open, okay.

Thank you.

I would like to add just one additional request when you're considering I'm sorry.

A little can you hear me better?

Okay.

Um one additional quite request, I think, to help us evaluate this a little bit further, whether in whatever form um you might bring this back to the board.

Um I see the elevations, um, building elevations and as well as the the height indications, I hear the references and the application to the relative um massing of the other buildings in the in the district.

Um I think it would be beneficial.

You know, it's I see the the the rendering here, and I I get a sense of the scale, but if there's any way that we could maybe see that either in elevation, whether it's a photo montage or something along the streetscape relative to the other buildings, so to help us better assess what the actual massing of this is in relation to the rest of the district, I think that that would help us to evaluate a little better.

I I think we can definitely accommodate that.

Um and if there I don't know if materials are necessarily necessarily um on the docket.

I I don't know.

Um but the there's definitely things that we can adjust uh and move around and hopefully um change to accommodate um the facilities needs, uh the the religious needs as well as the community and historic needs.

So just a quick comment on building material.

This is a non-compute non-contributing structure in historic district.

So the material um choice we really don't dictate, but we don't look at it as um foundation of the historic neighborhood.

So the proposed materials that are in here, the IFIS, um it's a modern component, modern material that would be used on a non-contributing structure.

Um so I would say that you know material obviously isn't is a component, but um I don't think it's a the holdup um from our review, correct?

Oh that it's uh I would say that's up up to the board to to decide.

Um but I would say if the if there are if the board does have um particular concerns about what they are seeing here to be able to communicate that to the applicant so that if there are revisions they've obviously heard the public's concerns if there are boards uh the board would like to um express uh some of the things that you would like to see worked on if it's scale massing height that sort of thing, that would be helpful to the applicants uh for our return trip.

Right.

I again I'll say it again, you know, the scale as you just said scale massing and lock coverage, I think are um the primary concerns that I've heard from the audience this this morning here, as well as my as my take on reviewing this project.

I'm not an architect, so if there's an architect that wants to talk about building material, go right ahead if you know if you'd like to make a comment on that.

I guess I would say um I agree with everything that my colleague has said.

However, I do think that given that this is we're talking about new construction, there is an opportunity to use materials that are a little bit more sensitive to the language of the surrounding district.

Um stucco type materials, not necessarily out of the realm of the character with some of the other um surrounding properties, but I would like to get a little bit more information.

There's a wide variety of ways that that can be implemented and applied.

I think it would be helpful to take a little bit closer look at that and and analyze the maybe things like texture um jointing, other things that might relate a little bit better to the district, even with the understanding that this is a non-contributing structure.

Um if if it is the board's pleasure to hold it, if that is what you want to do, then um as Connor just said, there would need to be a a motion.

Absolutely, but I I'm running the board, I can't make the motion.

So we need Oh you can't okay.

Um I'll motion to hold the application open or the the application open.

Pending additional information.

Pending additional information from the applicant.

Second uh uh ask all in favor of the motion.

Any opposed motion carries.

So we'll hold this open requesting additional information that Kate has garnered from the conversation.

She will elicit that to the applicant and question.

Will the community be able to respond to any revised proposals or yes?

Uh as not the public hearing has not been closed.

The public comment can be opened back up again.

Okay, wouldn't it be two abstentions for Nicole and Mr.

Oh, I'm sorry, and two abstentions, sorry.

There uh as far as the holding, we have two abstentions here, too.

Thank you.

Uh Nicole and Julia.

Yeah, thank you.

All right.

Next on the agenda.

So next on the agenda.

Um thank you.

You everyone at Cameroon.

Um actually is is uh uh Meyer site plan review 2025 163.

Um I did not receive any additional information.

Um so uh the board maybe we'll just wait just one moment.