ST. CLOUD - The St. Cloud city council heard two hours of public testimony, during a public hearing this (Monday) evening, on a planned mosque, school and community center for the city's southside.

At issue was a request by the Islamic Center of St. Cloud to amend a Planned Unit Development to allow the 34,000 square foot complex in a residential neighborhood just off Clearwater Road.  The property is currently zoned for duplexes and single family homes.

The Islamic Center's spokesman David Meyer says the three buildings would be phased in one at a time.

Council President Jeff Goerger opened the public hearing by reminding those in attendance that the issue before them was strictly a zoning issue. A point he repeated throughout the hearing.

Most of the people opposed to the project were concerned about the increased traffic the complex would bring to their neighborhood.  Meanwhile, residents supportive of the project held small green signs urging the council to approve the mosque.

At the end of the discussion, the Islamic Center decided to remove the application for consideration, which means if they want to build the mosque at the location sometime in the future the process would have to start all over again.

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