By Michelle Mitchell | The Arizona Republic
The Chandler City Council on Thursday unanimously rejected a developer’s proposal to build a small, gated community that included plans for a prayer room.
The council’s 7-0 vote denied the preliminary development plan of the Mumtaz Community and denied initial approval to rezone the area for residential.
“I feel that the applicant has really gone to extremes to resolve the issues,” Vice Mayor Jack Sellers said, but added that he is concerned about the traffic problems the development might cause.
The proposed 66-townhouse Mumtaz community would be near the southeastern corner of McQueen and Willis roads.
Willis Road dead ends east of the proposed development, making McQueen Road the only entry and exit point. Neighbors feared that the proposal would lead to more unsafe U-turns north of the development.
Several neighbors also spoke about the proposed prayer room, which on initial project plans submitted to the city was labeled a mosque.
