Bridgewater Township Council Unanimously Passes Ordinance Affecting Mosque Plans

Mr. Norgalis presides over Bridgewater Council meeting.

At a special public meeting held in the auditorium of the Bridgewater-Raritan High school Tuesday evening, the Bridgewater Township Council, after hearing over three hours of comments from the public, passed an ordinance specifying which Bridgewater roadways are appropriate locations along which to site “country clubs, open air clubs, houses of worship, and schools,” based on the quality of site access.

The bottom line is that this zoning ordinance alters the Municipal Code in such a way that the backers of plans to build a Mosque on the site of the former Redwood Inn on Mountaintop Road in Bridgewater will have to regroup. 

They will either have to petition the Zoning Board for an exception to the zoning ordinance passed Tuesday evening, or they will have to seek another location in Bridgewater that meets the site requirements specified in the newly enacted ordinance.

All five Bridgewater Township Council members voted in favor of the resolution late last night.   

Near the conclusion of the meeting, Howard Norgalis, Township Council President, said, “This is good zoning.  Shame on us for being late to the dance.” He added, “We don’t always get to the things that we should on time” and, “for that, I am truly sorry.”

Mr. Norgalis continued that, “We are not denying (you) a place of worship.”  This ordinance “simply changes the venue from the Planning Board to the Zoning Board.”  “I’m sorry,” he concluded, “that (some) people will think that in passing this vote, it is bigotry.”