Thursday, December 1, 2011
A federal lawsuit against the city was "without basis," and the city could have won it had Lilburn chosen to fight it, council member Tim Dunn said, according to a report.
A federal lawsuit that claimed Lilburn discriminated against Muslims in rejecting a mosque's rezoning application was "without basis," city councilman Tim Dunn said, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post, and the city could have won the legal battle. The city's insurance would not have covered the cost of the lawsuit, and the court battle, which probably would have dragged on for years, would have to be paid by the city and its taxpayers, City Manager Bill Johnsa said, according to the report. City council called a special meeting this week for training in the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. The city agreed to carry out the training for its employees and leaders as part of the settlement with the U.S. Department of …
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Will the dispute around the Dar-E-Abbas expansion decide who will be Lilburn's next mayor and who will serve on city council?
With only days left until Tuesday's elections, I keep thinking about an article that appeared in the Atlanta Journal Constitution about a month ago that implied the mayoral race may be decided by the Dar-E-Abbas brouhaha. "Many city officials and residents expect the dispute to figure prominently in Lilburn’s municipal elections in November," the article, Mosque dispute divides Lilburn, asserted, and one Lilburnite was quoted as saying Johnny Crist may win because of it. Mayoral candidate Crist was the only city council member to vote against the Dar-E-Abbas rezoning application in the Aug. 16 city council meeting. Mayor Diana Preston, who's running for re-election, and the city council members who voted in favor of the application say …
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Fighting a lawsuit by the Department of Justice would have meant "years of expensive and time-consuming litigation," Mayor Diana Preston and the city council said.
Lilburn last week settled a federal lawsuit involving the Dar-E-Abbas mosque expansion because fighting it would have been too costly, the city said, rejecting the lawsuit's claim of religious discrimination. "The City was compelled to enter into a settlement of the DOJ lawsuit, in order to avoid several years of expensive and time-consuming litigation with a federal agency having unlimited public resources," according to an editorial comment from Mayor Diana Preston and the city council. After two years of wrangling over the mosque's expansion plan, Lilburn's city council voted 3 to 1 on Aug. 16 to approve the congregation's application, allowing Dar-E-Abbas to move forward with its plans to build a 20,000-square-foot mosque at …
Friday, August 26, 2011
Lawsuit settlement follows Lilburn city council's approval last week of a revised application for the Dar-E-Abbas mosque.
The city of Lilburn and the U.S. Department of Justice settled a lawsuit alleging that the city discriminated against Muslims in rejecting a rezoning application for a planned mosque expansion. The settlement comes after Lilburn's city council last week approved a revised rezoning and expansion plan by Dar-E-Abbas Shia Islamic Center, ending a two-year heated battle over the issue. The lawsuit was filed after the city rejected two Dar-E-Abbas rezoning applications, and the government charged that the decisions were "based on the religious bias of city officials and to appease members of the public opposed to the construction of a mosque based on religious bias," the Justice Department said in a press release. The council violated the "…
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Lilburn reacts to mosque decision. "It will affect all of us, all of us," one observer said.
Members of the Dar E-Abbas congregation were visibly relieved Tuesday night as Lilburn City Council approved the mosque's expansion plan, ending a two-year struggle that had grown into a discrimination lawsuit and an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. "It's a good decision. We really appreciate it," said Syed Abbas after the council voted 3-1 in favor of the proposal. There were a few loud boos and a lot of disappointment expressed after the council's decision, though, announced to a standing-room-only audience at the Calvin Fitchett Municipal Complex Auditorium. Opponents of the proposal had expressed concerns ranging from lights to water run-off and hours of worship during the public hearing, in which both sides were given …
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Lilburn City Hall
76 Main St NW, Lilburn, GA
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Words and pictures from the City Council public hearing on Dar-E-Abbas.
Here’s a sampling of comments from after Tuesday’s Lilburn City Council’s approval of Dar-E-Abbas’ mosque expansion plan: Angel Alonso, resident of Hood Road. --“I think it sucks. I think it was unjust. City Council took advice of lawyers. Lawyers did back-door deals. We’re the citizens of Lilburn.” On his plans moving forward: --“I will have to talk to attorneys. We are going to the Governor’s office to let him know what is happening. We’re the citizens of Lilburn. They [city council] decided to listen to lawyers. Now the people of Lilburn have to speak up. If they are going to listen to lawyers we don’t need to have city council and the mayor.” Wasi Zaidi, founding member of Dar-E-Abbas. --“It feels good. We will be the best neighbors in…
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Lilburn City Hall
76 Main St NW, Lilburn, GA
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Tuesday, August 16, 2011
UPDATED: 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. The meeting drew a standing-room only crowd, more than half of whom were …
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Lilburn City Hall
76 Main St NW, Lilburn, GA
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Wanna hear something funny? It's National Tell a Joke Day.
Welcome to Tuesday, Aug. 16, the 228th day of the year. Here are some other things to know about the day. The weather: The thermometer will top out at about 90 degrees, with no rain on the horizon. The low tonight will be a cool 65. Back on the table: There will be a public hearing and a called city council meeting at 7:30 p.m. on the revised rezoning plan for the Dar-E-Abbas mosque. Gas prices continue downward, with the average cost of a gallon of regular gas at $3.594 on average in the U.S. and $3.545 in Georgia, according to AAA. Of the most recent prices reported to www.georgiagasprices.com for Lilburn, $3.48 was the lowest for a gallon of regular, and the highest was $3.59. Today in history: Richard Starkey, better known as Ringo …
Monday, August 8, 2011
Despite increased attention, City Council meeting went on without mention of Dar-E-Abbas.
It may be the most attention ever paid to a governmental meeting that did nothing official about what attracted the spotlight in the first place. Local TV was there — four cameras and reporters — as well as other media outlets. There was a video crew from the New York-based “The Muslims Are Coming” documentary project, which includes tonight’s free comedy show with Muslim-American comics at the Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville. There was even increased police presence and a security check-point at the door. In the end, Monday’s Lilburn City Council meeting didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know about the city’s ongoing mosque issue. The city will still re-visit next week Dar-E-Abbas’ wishes for new zoning to allow it to expand its …
While not on the agenda, rezoning issue between city and Dar-E-Abbas expected to be hot topic.
It may not be on the agenda of tonight's Lilburn City Council meeting, but the rezoning issue between the city and a local mosque will be on the minds of some residents who are expected to attend and voice their opinion. An email circulated last week and over the weekend, mainly to local media members, urged residents to attend and fight the issue — a request by Dar-E-Abbas for rezoning that would allow the mosque to expand its facilities at Lawrenceville Highway and Hood Road. The city has denied two previous requests, prompting the mosque to file a federal lawsuit, which is pending. The city announced last week that a special meeting to reconsider the zoning application will be held Tuesday, Aug. 16. The city said in a released statement…
Susan Coker
12:39 pm on Saturday, December 3, 2011
It's a sad commentary on our country that people have to settle out of court, making them pay and look guilty, when they are not - just because they can't afford the fight in court. more ›