Pleasanton's Muslim Community Center takes action after parking complaints sent to city
Pleasanton's Muslim Community Center deals with parking issues
Serious growth at Pleasanton's Muslim Community Center has led to a serious parking issue. Community complaints about overflow parking have been escalated to the city, and now the Center is trying to solve the problem so the city doesn't have to.
Pleasanton - In Pleasanton, serious growth at the Muslim Community Center has led to a serious parking issue. And now, community complaints about overflow parking have been escalated to the City. The Center is trying to take action, so the city won't have to.
Each Friday, more and more people gather for services here. And that's led to a growing problem at Pleasanton's Muslim Community Center: there's simply not enough parking.
"Our parking problems are a sign of our thriving community. While they're a headache, it's a sign of what we're doing that's good," Aminah Abdullah, community services director for the Muslim Community Center, said.
What they're saying:
But the parking situation has gotten so bad that cars have spilled into nearby lots and neighborhoods. And people have started complaining to the city.
"Sometimes parking is kind of very hard in this area," one neighbor said.
Officials with the city of Pleasanton say something needs to change. They've given the MCC a warning: fix the parking problem, or you'll be in violation of your conditional use permit.
Still, they say their first step is to work with the center to achieve compliance before initiating more formal action.
"To combat that, we're doing everything that we can to make sure that our community members are parking in the right places," Abdullah said.
Local perspective:
They've placed six security guards, nine volunteers, and a tow truck outside. They paid the school district to use a few extra spaces and once the lot is full, they've got flyers directing drivers to an auxiliary service down the road.
"I think they've actually hired people to stand out here to make sure that they're not parking in this parking lot. And so it seems like they're taking all the steps to try to do the right thing," Sonny Thomas, who works across the street, said.
What's next:
The MCC says they're acting swiftly both because they want to be a good neighbor and because they understand what's on the line.
"We don't want any repercussions from the city. We want to follow all of the rules. Our faith again tells us to follow all the rules, be kind to our neighbors, and we're doing everything we can to do that," Abdullah said.
In a statement, city officials wrote, "The City values MCC's presence and services to the Pleasanton community and looks forward to seeing a near-term resolution to the parking issues."