LINO LAKES, Minn. — The Lino Lakes City Council voted 3-2 on Monday to table a development project that's sparked a heated debate in the city.
Zikar Holdings says the Madinah Lakes project would add housing for nearly 1,300 people in the city.
The project also includes restaurants and a mosque.
Zikar Holdings President Faraaz Yussuf argues city leaders have deployed several tactics to prevent the project from happening, including the decision on Monday to table the project.
“We urge the city council to right the wrongs thus far and not to go down this path of continued injustice,” Yussuf says.
The city council is also considering a moratorium for the area that would put all construction on hold for up to a year.
Yussuf and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) argue this moratorium was started solely to prevent the Madinah Project from happening.
“This particular action is discriminatory. We believe the city acted in bad faith and the leadership is acting in bad faith,” CAIR Executive Director Jaylani Hussein says.
In previous city council meetings, members have voiced concerns about city infrastructure, such as water supply.
City council members have also expressed interest in putting development projects on hold so they can formulate a “master plan” for the city.
Hussein argues these measures were only put in place to stifle one project in particular: the Madinah Project. He argues the motives behind stopping the project are based on racism and Islamophobia.
"What we are seeing is a clear disrespect for rule of law, disrespect for decorum and clearly no hiding the bias,” Hussein.
The architecture firm on the project, DJR Architecture, is also concerned about the possible motives behind the city's decision.
"This is the first time in my professional history that I have seen what I call a premeditated murder of a project,” Dean Dovolis of DJR Architecture says.
Developers and CAIR Minnesota say they're still figuring out their next move.
They're waiting to see if the city approves the moratorium next week.
If that happens, they may consider legal action or other options to convince the city to reconsider.
KARE 11 reached out to all four city council members and the mayor in Lino Lakes to learn more about this decision to table the project and to get an update on the city’s proposed moratorium.
As of Tuesday evening, we have not heard back from the mayor or any of the four city council members.
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