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Controversy is brewing in Ward 9 where a proposed 20,000 square foot mosque complete with a soaring 88 foot minaret is set to go up by the middle of next year. Last week Mississauga's Ward 9 Councillor Pat Saito held a preliminary consultation with area residents who expressed outrage, fear and apprehension over how this development would impact the area's demographics, property value, traffic congestion and even light pollution.
The proposed site is situated on Winston Churchill Blvd opposite the Meadowvale Town Centre. According to Tahir Qureshi, trustee of the Meadowvale Islamic Centre which owns the property, the City of Mississauga has approved the re-zoning as a place of worship. "Ten years ago we had bought a plot with a house on it, but to have a place of worship, we had to make parking provisions, so two years ago, we bought the adjacent property where we plan to have a 114 car parking lot," he said.
The plot was earlier zoned as an office complex but was later re-zoned as a place of worship.