Lilburn to weigh mosque plan

The Lilburn City Council on Monday will consider a rezoning request by a local Muslim congregation that, if approved, would pave the way for a 20,000-square-foot mosque and end a yearlong legal dispute.

The rezoning proposal at U.S. 29 and Hood Road has been the subject of controversy for the past year. Last November, the congregation of Dar-E-Abbas, which owns 1.4 acres of land, wanted to buy an additional 6.5 acres for an expanded mosque, gymnasium and cemetery.

The City Council denied the application, prompting litigation. Amid legal talks, the congregation posed a revised plan, which reduces the site to four acres and excludes the gym and cemetery.

This past Monday, the city's planning commission recommended denial of the application, citing faulty site plans.

Monday's meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. at the Gwinnett County courthouse in Lawrenceville.