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[Sarcasm Pirate]

I wish we could get buses of people to show up at the zoning meetings in opposition of the cult's expansion. 

In this situation I do feel bad for the mosque since I think a lot of the hostility does have to deal with their religion. (I say this without knowing much about the area the mosque is in.  It could be that they already take up too much space and don't have room for the wanted additions.  I don't care enough to do much more research.)

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/Controversy+Clouds+Lilburn+Mosque+Issue+110909

LILBURN, Ga. - Some Gwinnett County residents hit the streets Sunday as they prepared for a battle over a controversial neighborhood mosque.

They were passing out flyers in opposition to the planned expansion of the Dar e Abbas mosque in Lilburn.

Members want to add a new building and cemetery on the site.

But not everyone is happy about the plans.

They want residents to attend a special meeting scheduled for this Thursday.

A previous meeting at the Lilburn City Hall was cancelled because of an overflow crowd.

EDIT: Request denied at planning commission.  Set to go to the city council in the coming weeks for those interested. :-)

[Raven]

From what I've seen about it build out of this would overwhelm that area.  8 acres sounds like a lot, but the plans include a gym, increased class size, etc. 

For me this comes down to another case of parking and traffic. 

[mefree]

Feds look into denial of Lilburn mosque
By Tyler Estep, Staff Writer| Gwinnett Daily Post
March 5, 2011

LILBURN — The city of Lilburn is the focus of a federal investigation for its denial of the Dar-E-Abbas mosque expansion proposal, the mosque’s attorney confirmed Friday.

The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division has interviewed members of the mosque and Lilburn officials recently and is actively investigating the city’s December decision to deny Dar-E-Abbas’ pursuit of an expanded campus, attorney Doug Dillard said.

It’s another twist in a years-long saga involving the mosque, one that is a result of what Dillard called a “violation of first, fourth and 14th Amendments of the United States Constitution.”

“It creates a substantial burden on these Muslims because they cannot worship in adequate facilities,” Dillard said, “and they’re not being treated on equal terms with other religious facilities in the area.”

Lilburn City Attorney Richard Carothers could not be reached for comment Friday, but confirmed the Department of Justice’s involvement to other media outlets.

The Dar-E-Abbas congregation had made its home near the intersection of U.S. Highway 29 and Hood Road for more than 10 years when it applied to purchase four additional acres of land, which would be used for a new, larger mosque, a cemetery, a gymnasium and more parking.

Many nearby residents protested the mosque’s desire to expand, and the proposal was ultimately shot down by the Lilburn City Council in November 2009.

A new plan minus the cemetery and gymnasium was later proposed. It was also denied. A lawsuit regarding the city’s decisions is still in litigation.

The city has maintained all along that the matter at hand was not one based on the religious beliefs of the applicants.

“This is a land-use planning issue and not a religion issue,” Lilburn Planning Commissioner Lawrence Kahn said at one of the original 2009 meetings regarding the mosque.

“We really have to focus on our current land-use plan and the future of Lilburn,” Kahn said.

When a revised plan was brought to the Lilburn planning commission in December, the effort was again denied.

“This board does not change zoning on the flip of a coin,” Commissioner Mike Hart said at the time. “We have to change zoning understanding that the project will work, and this site plan doesn’t communicate that this project will work.”

Dillard, the attorney for Dar-E-Abbas, said Friday that the ongoing federal investigation could result in four outcomes: the Department of Justice could do nothing, it could intervene as a party in the pending lawsuit, it could file a friend of the court brief or it could file an independent suit against the city of Lilburn.

The investigation falls under the Religious Land Use and Institutional Persons Act, he said.

Dillard said he “had no idea” when the Department of Justice might present its findings, but was confident his client would see the positive ending it is “entitled to as a matter of law.”

“They’re discriminating against these individuals who worship in accordance with mandates of the United States Constitution,” he said.

Source: http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/home/headlines/Feds_look_into_denial_of_Lilburn_mosque_117447779.html

[ethercat]

Here is a satellite view of the property, just for some perspective: http://www.mapquest.com/maps?address=5064+Lawrenceville+Hwy+Nw&city=Lilburn&state=GA&zipcode=30047-4914

Ah, here's some City of Lilburn info on it: http://www.cityoflilburn.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={60A7B88E-1B68-4EB8-9B59-85BD180A6FE1}&DE={DE567517-5BED-4887-8007-32E9BFA915F8}

Dar-E Abbas Revised Zoning Exhibit

This revised proposal reduces total acreage of the site to approximately 4.05 acres. A one story mosque is proposed on top of a basement. Each floor measures 10,000 square feet.  The commercial building and the residence fronting Hood Road are proposed to remain and 200 parking spaces are included in the plan.

The City Council denied the rezoning request at their December 13, 2010, public hearing.

PDFs of the drawings are linked from the page.

[mefree]

Lilburn Allows Mosque to be Built

LILBURN, Ga. - After two years of resisting, the Lilburn City Council has approved a Muslim congregation's request to build a 20,000-square-foot worship center.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the council OK'd the plan by 3-1 vote Tuesday.

The four-member council was deadlocked on a December vote of the zoning request. It prolonged a yearlong conflict among the Shiite Dar-E-Abbas congregation, city leaders and residents who oppose the group's expansion.

The congregation owns and worships on 1.4 acres. It originally sought to rezone more property but later said it would build only a mosque and parking lot.

More including video at http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/local_news/Lilburn-Allows-Mosque-to-be-Built-20110817-ap-sd

[ethercat]

The congregation owns and worships on 1.4 acres. It originally sought to rezone more property but later said it would build only a mosque and parking lot.

Sounds like they've reached a compromise with the City of Lilburn.  I don't think the word "compromise" is in the scientology dictionary.  I'd also be willing to bet none of the Muslims who were deposed in the RLUIPA case (if any were) perjured themselves as Deb Danos did in the Sandy Springs Ideal Org case.