Politics & Government

Lilburn Approves Mosque Plan

City Council votes 3 to 1 in favor of Dar-E-Abbas' rezoning request to expand its mosque.

With opposing chants of “recall” echoing immediately afterward, the Lilburn City Council approved a rezoning application by a local mosque that seems to have ended a two-year battle over the issue.

The Council voted 3 to 1 for approval Tuesday night during a special-called public hearing on the issue at City Hall, allowing Dar-E-Abbas to move forward with its plans to build a 20,000-square-foot mosque at Lawrenceville Highway and Hood Road.

Mayor Pro-Tem Tim Dunn and Councilmen Scott Batterton and Eddie Price voted in favor of the mosque's latest rezoning request on approximately 4.05 acres inside the city limits. Councilman Johnny Crist voted against the proposal.

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The meeting drew a standing-room only crowd, more than half of whom were opponents of the proposal. Police had to turn away about 30 people when the City Hall auditorium reached its 150-person capacity.

The approval is expected to settle a federal religious discrimination lawsuit filed by Dar-E-Abbas against the city, and possibly impact a Department of Justice civil rights investigation into the city’s actions in the case. The Council had denied two previous requests from the mosque, most recently last December, when it voted 2-2.

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“I’m very happy, but I also understand their concerns,” Wasi Zaidi, a founding member of the mosque, said of the residents opposed to the expansion, many of whom live near the mosque. “But we like Lilburn and we want to stay here. … We have no anger. [Disagreeing] is part of life. Trust me, we don’t want our neighbors angry.”

But it was clear that many were not happy with Tuesday’s decision.

Angel Alonso, a vocal opponent of the expansion from the start, called the decision “unjust.” Alonso told the Council during the hearing that "this zoning is wrong ... It's not right. It's not been right since Day 1."

Several residents once again told the Council that their opposition was about zoning and not religion. They were concerned about water runoff, traffic, noise and safety, and that the plan didn't fit into the city's comprehensive land-use plan.

"I wouldn't want a shopping center to move it there either," said Greg Myers, who lives in the Hood Road area.

Others also expressed anger because they felt the Council caved into pressure from the federal lawsuit and DOJ investigation.

“For me, personally, [the lawsuit and investigation] did not [affect his vote],” said Dunn, who added he cannot comment on any litigations. “I didn’t feel any pressure by anything the DOJ was doing.”

Mosque attorney Doug Dillard said after the meeting, “As far as we’re concerned, we’re satisfied. … We intend to dismiss [the lawsuit].”

The rezoning request began two years ago when Dar-E-Abbas first proposed a 7.99-acre plan, which included the mosque, a gymnasium and cemetery. Some of land in that plan would have been purchased from Mayor Diana Preston, who has recused herself from all of the mosque proceedings since, including Tuesday night.

The approved plan does not include any of Preston’s property.

Dunn said he heard the shouts for “recall” after the decision was announced. “They’re perfectly in their rights to do that,” he said.

Related Topics: City Council, Mosque, Muslims, Rezoning, dar-e-abbas, and lilburn mosque controversy

This article first appeared on Lilburn-Mountain Park Patch.


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