Vaughan Councillors Give Thumbs Down to Massive Khomeinist Muslim-Only Condo Project

The "controversial" project has had a set-back:

A group of Thornhill Woods residents are celebrating a minor victory, but they’re bracing for the possibility of an even bigger, more expensive challenge after councillors voted to quash a controversial proposal for a condominium and townhouse complex around a Muslim community centre.  

“We’re happy from one hand, but from the other hand we’re very reserved still,” Rom Koubi, chairman of the Preserve Thornhill Woods Association, a residents’ group set up to oppose the proposed development, said in an interview Wednesday morning.

He noted there’s a still a final council vote to come and the project’s proponents can always appeal the decision to the Ontario Municipal Board.

“We may have won a battle, but we didn’t completely win the war. There’s still a ways to go,” Koubi added. “We hope the applicant will understand that we are wiling to work with them on a new application that will conform with what the neighbourhood is meant to be.”  

 The Islamic Shia Ithna-Asheri Jamaat of Toronto (ISIJ) applied to build two 17-storey residential towers, 61 townhouses and retail space on its 11- hectare property at 9000 Bathurst St., south of Rutherford Road.                  

The new Islamic community would be built around the Jaffari Community Centre.

Councillors shot down the proposed development at Tuesday’s committee of the whole meeting after a slew of residents came forward to complain that a working group set up to resolve myriad concerns about the proposed development — such as the height of proposed towers, density and increased traffic in the area —wasn’t making sufficient progress.   

The residents implored councillors put an end to the ongoing discussions and reject, outright, the proposed development.                        

They said that since the working group was established back in February the ISIJ has dragged its feet and refused to put forward a “reasonable” proposal given the city’s official plan designates the area for low-rise development. 

 They also said that it’s stoking religious tensions between Jews and Muslims in the community.       

 ISIJ representative Shafiq Punjani told councillors, although it faced some hurdles, the working group was making progress and he believed that with continued discussions there was a “good likelihood” the outstanding issues could be resolved.  

  But councillors unanimously sided with the Thornhill Woods’ residents....

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Khomeinists filed a complaint with the Ontario "Human Rights" Commish--and ended up getting the go-ahead from Barbara Hall and/or one of her "human rights" flunkies.

Update: When I googled the name Shafiq Punjani, this interesting tidbit turned up:

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - July 27, 2011) - The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced today that Shafiq M. Punjani of Toronto, pleaded guilty in the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto on July 18, 2011 to 16 counts of failing to file goods and services (GST) tax returns. He was fined $1,000 per count, for a total of $16,000, for not filing GST tax returns for two corporations of which he is a director. The fines must be paid within nine months. 

Shafiq Punjani, as director of Liquidation Warehouse Corp., failed to file eight GST returns for quarterly periods from April 2003 to March 2005 and was personally fined $8,000. Punjani also pleaded guilty on behalf of the two corporations. Liquidation Warehouse Corp. failed to file four GST returns for quarterly periods from April 2003 to March 2004 and was fined $4000. 1480120 Ontario Inc. was also fined $4000 for failing to file GST returns for various reporting periods from July 2007 to March 2009. 

The CRA made several requests for the missing returns before serving both directors and the two corporations with notices demanding that the returns be filed. Failure to comply with these notices resulted in charges being laid. The outstanding returns were filed after the CRA laid charges...