UNION — It's quiet but for the homes under construction and the occasional pickup kicking up a dust cloud in the shadow of an old farmhouse.

        New upper-middle-class houses, well-kept lawns, a community pool ... and one very upset group of residents.

        This is Plantation Pointe — mobilized.

        Not far from the new subdivision, a four-acre farm at 1290 Mount Zion Road has been sold by its owner. It's there that a Florence pediatrician envisions a temple and religious school, if he can get zoning approval.

        And that's what has got Plantation Pointe residents going — the zoning. But there are also other questions.

        “We heard it was a mosque, then a Jewish synagogue. It doesn't matter,” Pam Brooks said from the front steps of her home.

        She circulated a letter that addressed zoning concerns but not ideology. She knocked on 180 doors with her double-sided letter about traffic, lighting and aesthetics of a new house of worship.

        It was well-received by residents who nonetheless say the religious undercurrent clouds the issue.

        They've spent many nights going door-to-door, printing fliers, and reviewing their efforts with two neighbors who are attorneys.

        It's true the temple won't identify its religious affiliation, member Riyad Shamma, 32, acknowledged.

        An American-born Kenwood financial consultant, he confirmed he is the national adviser of Muslim Youth of North America.

ISSUES TO CONSIDER

In his staff report on the conditional-use permit request for 1290 Mount Zion Road, dated June 15, Boone County Planner Todd Morgan raised eight issues for the zoning commission to consider. They are:    1. The religious school plan includes filling in a pond that is partially on the property of a neighbor, requiring an agreement.    2. Access to the facility from Mount Zion Road, which is “curvy and hilly and has no turning lanes. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Staff believe the proposed church would not warrant the installation of a turning lane.”    3. Preliminary plan indicates the church would tie into Wetherington Boulevard, Plantation Pointe's main thoroughfare. “Staff concerned the preliminary layout did not forecast a high traffic generation use, such as a church.”    4. A planned 120-vehicle parking lot “will have a commercial appearance from Wetherington Boulevard and the adjoining residential areas” and “opens the question whether the scale of the facility is appropriate.”    5. Site lighting should not exceed 10 feet high and should have shields.    6. No exterior building renderings have been submitted. “The only information provided by the applicant is that both buildings should be constructed of 90% brick or stone.”    7. Recommendation of property buffers with trees.    8. If the board grants approval, a major site plan application must be submitted to the Boone County Planning Commission.    Conclusion: County zoning regulations give the Union Board of Adjustment and Zoning Appeals the authority to approve the request.

        He praised residents' concern for their neighborhood and questions about the denomination of his group. But . . .

        “If we mention we're Catholic, there may be some concern because of all the stuff that's been going on with the priests,” he said.

        “If we mention that we're Islamic, the Sept. 11 stuff is there in the background. Every group has certain prejudices associated with them.”

        The application for conditional use of 1290 Mount Zion Road by pediatrician M. Zinnedin describes his proposed facility as a “temple (church)” but is not specific.

        It includes a 120-vehicle parking lot.

        The land appeals to the group planning the temple, in part, because “commercial property is ridiculously expensive,” Mr. Shamma said.

        A call to Dr. Zinnedin's home was not returned, and a woman at his office said the doctor was traveling out of the country and unavailable for comment.

        The question is now before the zoning commission, where a meeting last Monday drew so many upset residents — about 100 — that the meeting was postponed until Aug. 19. The residents vow to return.

        “I won't yell and scream, but I want to be heard,” said Ken Harris, 37, who lives with his wife and five children within a two-minute walk to the back yard of 1290 Mount Zion Road.

        Asked if the nature of the temple matters, he said, “To be honest, it really doesn't.”

        Boone County planner Todd Morgan said it doesn't matter to the board either. “If someone gets up there and just says, "I don't want an Islamic church in my neighborhood,' that should carry no weight,” he said. “Decisions should be based on the findings and regulations for conditional-use permits.”

        Residents are unlikely even to mention faith.

        “The few people I've talked to about it,” Mr. Harris said, “didn't even mention who or what it was.”

        He actually sympathizes with temple members. “My (Christian) church doesn't have a building, we meet in a gymnasium,” Mr. Harris said. “We're looking for a place to build, and I'd love nothing more than to walk to church.”

        But not in an area where every other building is a single-family home.

        Among his new neighbors are Nick and Debby Schwartz, who moved to the nearby Antebellum subdivision just three weeks ago. .

        At least two or three times, the Schwartzes said, neighbors have come to the door to rally support. “But nobody who's come around has mentioned (religious ideology),” Mrs. Schwartz said. “They mention traffic and lighting.”

        “My only concern is property value,” said Mr. Schwartz. . “But if there are collateral issues for people, that's not my concern. We don't care what church they are. But I'm sure there's a lot of feelings about 9-11.”

        That's Mr. Shamma's point.

        “It can become an issue of prejudice within the community,” he said. “People make decisions emotionally and then justify it with logic afterwards. We'd rather people make their decisions based on that it is a God-based group.”

        That's as specific as he'll get. Mr. Shamma did say the facility would be open for prayers five times a day and the main service of the week would be on Friday, which is typical of Muslim worship.

        He said the group of between 100 and 150 people has been meeting in halls and conference centers for about four years. Most members are from Northern Kentucky.

        One other thing about the group: it was the first to meet Paul and Mary Webster's asking price for 1290 Mount Zion since it went on the market about eight months ago.

        They are selling it because their 43-year-old son died last year and the property, which includes a brick colonial home, is simply too much to maintain by themselves.

        “The real-estate people just told us the offer,” Mr. Webster said. “We've never met (the potential buyers).”

        Meanwhile, Connie Pyke misses the farmstead that was there when she moved next door eight years ago. Her two children used to walk over and feed the horses.

        “If it was an ice-cream parlor (planned on that site),” she said, “I wouldn't want it. We like the quiet.”

        Since last month, Plantation Pointe has been anything but.

        Contributing: Richelle Thompson and Erica Solvig

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