Lilburn mosque gets cemetery; residents fume

By Shane Blatt

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A Muslim congregation embroiled in a lawsuit with Lilburn has received part of what it's been wanting: permission to build a cemetery.

Before a crowd of residents yelling "shame on you" and "this is a joke," the Lilburn City Council on Monday night voted 3-0 to amend its zoning laws to allow new cemeteries in certain residential areas.

The decision paves the way for the local congregation of Dar-E-Abbas – which last year was denied a rezoning request for a large mosque, gymnasium and cemetery -- to build a cemetery on a three- to five-acre patch of land on Harbins Road. The parcel sits less than a half-mile from the congregation's current mosque at U.S. 29 and Hood Road.

"As long as we have the cemetery, that's all we need basically," Wasi Zaidi, founding member of the congregation, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "As long as we get close to there [Hood Road], that's fine."

But many of the more than 70 people who filled City Hall on Monday objected to the change. Some shouted. Others pleaded with the city to table the vote, saying they believed the city had acted without their input.

Resident Mike Smith charged that the issue had been decided in "relative secrecy."

And resident John Cook took city leaders to task for what he termed their arrogance in keeping residents out of the loop.

"You don't keep us informed and you condescendingly say, ‘You don't understand,'" Cook said. "We want to know how this affects us as citizens."

Before the public hearing, attorney Laurel Henderson told residents the amended ordinance doesn't resolve the lawsuit between Lilburn and the congregation, but it does address a key sticking point. Currently, the only zoning district in which a cemetery is allowed is agricultural, and there is no land in Lilburn for that use. The new law offers an alternative for the mosque, she said.

Monday's vote is the latest twist in a nearly yearlong dispute.

Last November, the Lilburn City Council denied the congregation's rezoning application for a 20,000-square-foot mosque, gymnasium and cemetery on about 8 acres at U.S. 29 and Hood Road. In its decision, the council said the application would create spot zoning and pose stormwater, traffic and parking problems.

The congregation, which has worshipped at that location for 12 years, owns 1.4 acres of the land and wanted to buy an additional 6.5 acres to accommodate the city's growing Muslim population. Mayor Diana Preston owns four of those acres. She has recused herself from all mosque-related matters.

In December, the congregation filed a federal religious discrimination lawsuit.

City officials didn't respond to residents' questions during the meeting.

"Over time, I hope the citizens of Lilburn will know we have their best interests in mind," Councilman Tim Dunn said afterward.