The zoning dispute between Lilburn and a local Muslim congregation started at the mostly nondescript corner of Lawrenceville Highway and Hood Road in 2009 and gradually made its way to Washington, D.C.
When it was finally over in mid-August, the Gwinnett town of 12,000 residents had spent tens of thousands of dollars defending itself in court, earned a reputation as a hotbed of religious intolerance and remained divided about whether the fight was worth the expense and trouble.
As part of a public records request, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reviewed hundreds of emails and city records related to the zoning dispute spanning more than two years. The documents reveal the pressure city leaders faced in and out of City Hall, from residents upset about the prospect of living next to a large mosque to Department of Justice attorneys who suspected discrimination in the process.
“I still get emails from outside of the state about it, from California, Wisconsin, all over,” Mayor Diana Preston said last week. “It’s like, ‘Good grief.’ This has been really unfortunate.”
Under pressure from the DOJ, the Lilburn City Council finally approved Dar-E-Abbas’ request to expand its worship center, on Aug. 16.
The decision enables Dar-E-Abbas — which had its most recent request denied by the council in December — to build a 20,000-square-foot center. Dar-E-Abbas said it will take about five years to raise enough money for construction.
Lilburn also reached an agreement with the DOJ requiring that the city not impose different zoning and building requirements on other houses of worship; that city officials attend training on the requirements of the law; and that the city adopt new procedures that clarify its appeals process for religious groups. Lilburn officials also will report periodically to the agency.
But the controversy won’t end there: Many city officials and residents expect the dispute to figure prominently in Lilburn’s municipal elections in November.
A vocal group of residents has repeatedly suggested Preston and other council members who approved the application will pay a political price for settling the case. Many of them remain angry that the city settled with the DOJ rather than continue the court battle.
“They’re wasting our resources on other things,” longtime resident Myrna Caudill said. “So why not this? Why not spend and fight?”
Preston is running for re-election against Johnny Crist, the City Council’s lone opposing vote to the Dar-E-Abbas application in August, and incumbent council member Scott Batterton is defending his seat against three challengers, including leading mosque opponent Angel Alonso.
“I honestly believe Johnny Crist has a very good chance, based on that issue alone,” said Thor Johnson, a resident and former president of neighborhood organization SafetySmart Lilburn. “He’s been very talkative about that issue.”
Crist said voters are eager to hear candidates talk about the issue, pointing to the turnout at council meetings over the past two years.
Hundreds of people regularly packed the chambers of City Hall for hearings on the zoning application, which once forced the council to move its meeting to the larger Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center in Lawrenceville.
“In the history of the city of Lilburn, I don’t know that there’s ever been as much public interest and turnout for meetings over one issue,” Crist said. “Either you’re for it or against it. It’s important to the city.”
Preston, who recused herself from all mosque-related discussions and votes in the past because she owns a home adjacent to property sought by Dar-E-Abbas, hinted that Crist was using the controversy to stir interest in his campaign. She pointed out Dar-E-Abbas met all of the city’s zoning requirements when its application came before the council in August.
“I think he’s trying to make it an issue and that’s probably why he voted against” the application, she said. “Sometimes elected officials have to vote against the wishes of a vocal segment of the community because it is the right thing to do. Three council members did the right thing on Aug. 16 when they voted to approve the application.”
By dragging out the fight against Dar-E-Abbas, city records show, Lilburn spent nearly $63,000 in legal expenses on the case dating back to 2009. The money includes the cost of defending the city against lawsuits from Dar-E-Abbas and DOJ.
Over the same time, Lilburn’s overall legal expenses climbed from about $95,000 in fiscal year 2008-09 to more than $122,000 in 2009-10. The city has spent more than $99,000 through this year, which is still more total than it spent from 2006-2008 ($96,337.76), according to information provided by the city.
That jump in legal expenses came amid an economic slump the lowered property values, forcing the city to cut back in other areas. City Manager Bill Johnsa said Lilburn shifted around money in the city’s general fund and had to put off purchases for small equipment.
“It’s been costly,” Johnsa said. But residents will not have a tax increase because of the legal expenses, he said.
Johnsa noted that the city felt it could have prevailed in the DOJ case, but decided against prolonging the legal battle.
Beyond the financial considerations, opponents of the mosque inundated the email inboxes of council members and city staffers with pleas to reject Dar-E-Abbas’ application. The AJC’s review of emails over two years revealed messages ranging from thoughtful ruminations on the zoning implications to concerns that Islamic terrorists were going to destroy the city.
“Remember the World Trade Center and what these people stand for,” wrote one resident in December. “By letting these people having [sic] a Mosque built is only a stepping stone to possible future disasters.”
Allan Owen, a Hood Road resident and persistent critic of the mosque, warned the council of buckling under the threat of a lawsuit.
“I remain concerned that the attorney ... will be able to coerce the Council into approving this in order to settle the suit,” Owen wrote in November 2010.
Preston, who said nothing publicly about the matter until after the August vote, responded at least a couple of times to residents who wrote to her complaining about Dar-E-Abbas’ attempt to buy four acres of her property on Hood Road.
“We have many different groups here and I see a future Lilburn as being inclusive of its diversity,” she wrote. “We don’t have to believe as others believe, but a simple understanding and tolerance goes a long way to the success of a community.”
Since receiving approval for the mosque, Dar-E-Abbas members said they’ve been focused on raising money for construction, which they estimate will cost at least $10 million. They also hope to rebuild relationships with their old neighbors.
“We’re going to be here forever,” said Wasi Zaidi, a founding member of Dar-E-Abbas. “And we think it’s going to be good for the city.”
About the Author
