The Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission in Alabama has unanimously voted to recommend against rezoning a corporate park property for a K-12 Islamic school and community center. Commissioners cited traffic, questions about long-term land use, and consistency with the city’s development plan, while some residents at the meeting voiced explicitly anti-Muslim objections. The recommendation now goes to the Hoover City Council for a final decision.
In a tense meeting this week, the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission voted 7-0 to recommend that the Hoover City Council deny a request to relocate the Islamic Academy of Alabama to a vacant office building at 2500 Corporate Drive in Meadow Brook Corporate Park.
The application sought conditional-use approval to convert the office-zoned property into a K-12 school and community center, allowing the Islamic Academy of Alabama — currently based in Homewood — to move to Hoover. Multiple outlets, including local site 280 Living and 1819 News, reported that the commission’s vote was a recommendation and that the council will make the final zoning decision.
The commission’s discussion focused heavily on land use and traffic. City Planner Mac Martin told commissioners that city staff did not recommend approval because the school use was not in line with Hoover’s comprehensive plan for the Meadow Brook Corporate Park area, which envisions a mixed-use, office- and tech-focused corridor. He also raised questions about the traffic study and occupancy projections.
Commission members cited concerns about increased congestion in an already busy corridor and about setting a precedent for similar conditional-use changes in the corporate park. According to local reporting, commissioners said the proposal failed to demonstrate how a school at the back of the office park would advance the city’s long-term plans for the area.
Residents turned out in large numbers. Local coverage from the Hoover Sun and other outlets described a standing-room-only crowd at Hoover City Hall, with estimates ranging from about 170 to nearly 200 attendees, many opposing the move.
Traffic concerns dominated many residents’ comments. Meadow Brook resident Nancy Cooper, speaking at the meeting, noted that several schools already feed traffic onto Alabama 119 between U.S. 280 and Interstate 65 and described the highway at peak times as “a parking lot,” according to the Hoover Sun. Another resident, Jeff Wilson, organized a petition opposing the relocation that drew more than 1,700 signatures. Wilson, quoted by multiple outlets, insisted that his objection was not about religion but about worsening congestion, saying, “It’s not about religion. It’s about traffic.”
However, cultural and religious tensions were also evident. According to Alabama Political Reporter and other accounts, some residents brought signs invoking Dearborn, Michigan — which critics characterized as a city “taken over” by Muslims — and slogans reflecting fears of a broader Islamic influence. Breitbart and other national outlets reported that some signs referenced a supposed Islamic “100-year plan,” and that several speakers warned the school could change the character of Hoover or harm property values and business development.
At one point, a speaker began linking the proposed school to what she alleged was a “long-term cultural takeover” by Muslims in Britain, drawing applause from some in the audience, according to Alabama Political Reporter’s account of the meeting. Commission Chairman Mike Wood stepped in to redirect the discussion, emphasizing that the panel was there to consider land use and traffic, not religious or cultural arguments. He told attendees, in substance, that the commission was focused on whether the school was appropriately placed and would not entertain broader claims about Islam.
The commission’s 7-0 vote does not finalize the matter. Under Hoover’s procedures, the Planning and Zoning Commission serves as a recommending body on rezoning and conditional-use requests. The Islamic Academy of Alabama may now seek a hearing before the Hoover City Council, which will ultimately decide whether to accept or reject the rezoning request.
