A federal lawsuit was filed against the city of Kennesaw on Tuesday in relation to one resident’s application to use a retail shopping center suite as a mosque, said Doug Dillard, the applicant’s attorney.
Dillard said the lawsuit was filed as a precaution in case anyone challenges the City Council’s Dec. 15 vote to approve the mosque application.
“If the opposition to the mosque filed a lawsuit and for some reason the vote that they took on December 15 was declared null and void, then all we’ve got to fall back on is their actions on Dec. 1,” Dillard said.
On Dec. 1, the council voted 4-1 to deny the mosque application, but then reversed that decision on Dec. 15.
However, Dillard said if the Dec. 15 vote is successfully challenged within 30 days of the vote, then the denial from Dec. 1 still stands.
Dillard said the lawsuit is there as a safety net until those 30 days run out. Then, the applicant can know for sure that the Dec. 15 approval stands.
“If the 30-day appeal period goes by and there is no appeal, we can always dismiss the lawsuit, but we had to file it as a preventative measure just in case someone challenged the December 15 action,” Dillard said.
A council member, a resident or anyone could challenge the vote, Dillard said.
Kennesaw Mayor Mark Mathews said he has not heard any indication from council members that there could be a challenge to the approval.
“As for the decision made by council, I have not heard any comments or discussions regarding any changes to the last action taken. The permit was approved unanimously,” Mathews said.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday in the U.S. Northern District Court references the First, Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth amendments to the United States and Georgia constitutions as well as the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, a federal law protecting religious institutions from discriminatory zoning laws, Dillard said.
“Obviously, we hope we don’t have to litigate against the city. We hope the Dec. 15 vote is (upheld),” Dillard said.
Meanwhile, the applicant is beginning to get the retail space ready to become a mosque, Dillard said.
“They’re going forward with more requests for the permits and that kind of thing. They’re going full speed to make use of the property,” Dillard said.
In November, Mufti Islam of Kennesaw applied to use a 2,200-square-foot suite in a shopping center just off Cobb Parkway behind a Publix grocery store as an Islamic prayer and education facility.
The application, submitted by Suffa Dawat Center at Kennesaw, states the facility will be used for five daily prayers lasting 10 to 15 minutes and one 40 to 45 minute weekly prayer service on Fridays, which could see 60 to 80 people.
Over the course of several Kennesaw City Council meetings in November and December, residents filled the City Hall to express concerns that the mosque would create too much traffic.
“There was a lot of opposition,” Dillard said.
Council members Jim Sebastian and Mayor Mark Mathews worried aloud that there might not be enough parking in the center to accommodate the mosque and its visitors.
The council denied the application Dec. 1 with a 4-1 vote. Only Councilwoman Cris Eaton-Welsh voted in favor.
After the denial, Dillard threatened to sue the city if it denied the application, saying a denial would have violated the Religious Land Use Act.
Faced with the threat of a lawsuit, Mathews said all four council members who voted to deny the mosque individually asked the mayor in private to change their previous vote at the council’s Dec. 10 meeting.
On Dec. 15, the council voted 5-0 to approve each of the four council members’ requests to change their votes. Now, the city’s record shows the application for the mosque was approved 5-0.
Read more: The Marietta Daily Journal - Lawsuit filed in Mosque application