Marietta mosque must tear down additions

The Al-Hedaya Islamic Center in Marietta was denied a special use permit by Marietta City Council on Wednesday night.

The council voted 4-2 to deny the mosque at 968 Powder Springs St. permission to operate permanently in a residentially zoned area with additions built without city approval.

The city and the mosque agreed Sept. 3 that the mosque would tear down additions it made last summer without city permits.

Municipal Court Judge Roger J. Rozen on that date ordered the mosque to remove the additions in three stages. The first stage has been completed; a 3-foot addition to the front porch has been removed, said the attorney representing the mosque, Michèle Battle of Smith Gambrell & Russell.

Next, the mosque must remove two brick columns erected on the sides of its driveway by Oct. 15, and demolish additions made to the rear of the building and a side vestibule by Oct. 30.

The Council’s decision, Battle said after Wednesday’s meeting, was nowhere based in law. “This rule is punishment. That is not their job,” she said.

The Islamic center was established in a single-family home located in a neighborhood zoned for residential use.

The city changed its zoning regulations in 2004 to allow buildings for religious use in commercially zoned areas. At that time, the center was permitted to continue operating in a residential area but was not allowed to expand or build additions.