“IS A CALL TO WORSHIP PLANNED?” Some Residents Fight Islamic Center, But Fine With Jewish Center… Where’s The Inclusiveness?
PALM BEACH COUNTY ISSUES STATEMENT SLAMMING SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN.
DELRAY BEACH, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2026 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — Scores of homeowners and residents in West Delray Beach and West Boca Raton are taking to social media — and filling our inbox — with complaints and concerns about a proposed Islamic Worship Center and School set for Lyons Road, just south of Atlantic Avenue. Most of these people did not complain about the Chabad set to be built not far from the proposed Islamic Center — east of Lyons Road on Clint Moore Road.
Both properties are in — or very near — the “Agricultural Reserve,” the once restricted area largely now used by builders like G.L. Homes and heavily marketed to out-of-state residents looking to relocate to Florida. Among the communities in or near the Ag Reserve: The Bridges, Boca Bridges, Seven Bridges, Lotus, and Mizner Country Club.
While resulting daily traffic is a major concern for all new construction in the area, specific concerns posted to social media about the Islamic Center include: “an Islamic school whose curriculum includes Arabic, Quran, and Islamic Studies” a fear that loudspeakers will broadcast a “call to worship,” and ironically for Boca Raton and Delray Beach, elevated traffic during religious holiday celebrations.
Jewish and Islamic leaders contacted by BocaNewsNow.com did not respond to our questions for this story. Among them: area synagogues who publicize their inclusiveness, acceptance, and seek media attention for annual Christmas Day outreach programs. A representative from the Islamic Center of West Delray Beach — the name for the proposed center — did not respond to our request for a phone call. We also reached out to the Chabad Chai Center set to be built on Clint Moore Road — a representative did not respond. We welcome responses from any religious leader.
The anti-Islamic Center protestors are planning to pack a meeting to be held by Palm Beach County Commissioner Maria Sachs. The meeting is set for October 2nd at the South County Convention Center on Jog Road at 9:30 a.m. The Islamic school and worship center have been years in the making — the plan has worked its way through various approvals since the early 2020s. The meeting is officially set to discuss the “future of the Agricultural Reserve.” Palm Beach County took the unusual step late Monday of issuing this statement:
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“Contrary to information being spread via social media,” wrote a Palm Beach County official, “this meeting is not about a specific project or planned development. The meeting will cover topics including development, affordable housing, transportation infrastructure and future agricultural use.”
What does concern look like for an Islamic Center in West Delray Beach? Read below. We are publishing a lengthy post written by a woman identifying herself as Melissa Steinberg Brodsky — a self-proclaimed “Zionist.” We are also publishing several of the comments posted after Brodsky’s remarks.
Republished From Facebook/Melissa Steinberg Brodsky
Attention South Florida peeps. You need to know about this.
On Friday, October 2 at 9:30 a.m., Palm Beach County Commissioner Maria Sachs is holding a meeting at the Dr. André Fladell Civic Center in Delray Beach. The subject is “The Future of the Ag-Reserve.” In 2023 Palm Beach County approved a major development from the Islamic Center of West Delray Beach on nearly 10 acres of Agricultural Reserve land east of Lyons Road near 152nd Place South. The property had been operating as a wholesale nursery.
The approved plans call for two buildings totaling 57,912 square feet, plus more than 6,000 square feet of covered canopy space. The private VPK–12 school would accommodate 382 students, with another 32 children in daycare and 60 employees. Plans include a gymnasium, cafeteria, administrative offices, multipurpose space, tennis and basketball courts, volleyball courts, playgrounds, picnic pavilions, and 219 parking spaces.
The traffic study projected more than 1,000 additional vehicle trips every day, including hundreds during the morning rush. The project has one access point onto 152nd Place South. Palm Beach County imposed conditions involving reconstruction of part of that road, an 8-foot pathway, improvements involving Lyons Road, and money toward a future traffic signal if county engineers determine one is needed.
That’s the school.
There’s also a separate place-of-worship project. Palm Beach County records from 2021 show an application called “Islamic Center” at the southeast corner of Lyons Road and 152nd Place South. Two organizations were listed as applicants: the Islamic Center of Boca Raton and the Islamic Center of West Delray Beach. The requested use was a place of worship.
The Islamic Center of West Delray Beach had been incorporated only months earlier, in October 2020. Its current Florida corporate filing lists Hanan Khalil, Saed Khalil, and Eyad Abushaban as directors. The place-of-worship application appeared in 2021. The school application followed in 2022.
The connection to Boca is worth watching. The Islamic Center of Boca Raton operates Garden of the Sahaba Academy, an Islamic school whose curriculum includes Arabic, Quran, and Islamic Studies. The county records reviewed so far don’t establish that Garden of the Sahaba will become the West Delray school, but the Islamic Center of Boca Raton and Islamic Center of West Delray Beach appearing together on the place-of-worship application makes the relationship between the organizations a fair question.
There’s another reference buried in the county paperwork. During review of the school project, Palm Beach County Water Utilities described the contemplated future use as an elementary and secondary school “with gymnasium and place of worship.” Very few people appear to have been paying attention when this went through the approval process. In July 2023 the Zoning Commission recommended approval 7–0. County staff reported receiving no contacts from the public about the application when its report was prepared. The Board of County Commissioners approved the school and daycare conditional uses that September.
The land raises another issue. A Phase I environmental assessment identified possible soil or groundwater concerns associated with the property’s former nursery operations and lawn-equipment maintenance and repair. Palm Beach County required a Phase II environmental assessment before final Development Review Officer approval.
So residents going to the October 2 meeting have plenty to ask.
Start with traffic. What do the numbers look like today? What happens on Lyons Road and 152nd Place when hundreds of students, parents, employees, and daycare families arrive and leave? Did the traffic analysis account for an adjoining place of worship operating at the same time as the school? What happens during Friday services while school is in session?
Ask about parking. The school plan includes 219 spaces. What happens during religious holidays, school programs, athletic events, large services, and other gatherings? If the school and place of worship function together, has their combined peak parking demand ever been studied?
Ask about outdoor amplified sound. Are exterior speakers planned for either property? Is an amplified call to prayer contemplated? How frequently could outdoor amplification occur and during what hours? Where would speakers be located? What noise limits apply at nearby homes?
Ask for the Phase II environmental assessment. Was it completed? What did it find? Was contamination found in the soil or groundwater? Was remediation necessary? What testing has been performed since?
Ask about drainage. Nearly 10 acres that had been used as a nursery are slated for buildings, parking, driveways, athletic facilities, and other development. Where does the stormwater go? What happens during the kind of heavy rain South Florida regularly gets? What effect could additional development have on neighboring properties?
Ask about lighting, outdoor athletic activity, landscaping, buffers from nearby homes, construction traffic, hours of operation, emergency access, future expansion, and whether the school and place of worship are being evaluated separately even though they may ultimately operate as neighboring parts of the same religious and educational community.
And ask the question Friday’s meeting is actually about: What is Palm Beach County planning to do with the Agricultural Reserve?
The applicant argued during the zoning process that West Delray’s growing population created demand for schools and other institutional and civic uses in the Ag Reserve. County staff supported the need for the school and daycare.
That decision reaches far beyond one Islamic center.
How much Agricultural Reserve land has already been converted to schools, houses of worship, commercial development, housing, and other nonagricultural uses? How many projects are already approved but haven’t been built? How many more are in the pipeline? What limits remain? At what point does approving these projects one parcel at a time fundamentally change what the Agricultural Reserve was created to preserve?
Those are questions Palm Beach County residents have every right to put directly to their elected officials.
Friday, October 2 at 9:30 a.m.
Dr. André Fladell Civic Center, 16700 Jog Road, Delray Beach
Commissioner Sachs called the meeting to talk about the future of the Ag Reserve.
Fill the room.
Here are some of the comments posted after the social media post. We ask you to share your thoughts in our comments section.
Read more from Melissa Brodsky here. Read the latest plans from the Islamic Center, as filed with Palm Beach County, below. Share your thoughts about inclusiveness in Palm Beach County in our comments section.
