The designer of the proposed Madinah Lakes development in Lino Lakes is standing with the project’s developers, who allege in a new lawsuit that religious discrimination motivated city leaders to oppose the project.
Madinah Lakes, which would bring a mosque and hundreds of new housing units to the city, has been in limbo since June, when the City Council approved a moratorium on new housing within a 980-acre area that includes the project site.
Dean Dovolis of DJR Architecture, the project’s designer, said Wednesday that the council’s action had nothing to do with the quality of the project or the need for new housing in Lino Lakes.
On the contrary, he said, there are more “nefarious reasons why this approval didn’t occur.”
“I’ve worked in many cities and many states, and I’ve never run into this degree of animosity, especially on the public front,” Dovolis said in an interview.
Finance & Commerce reached out to the city, which isn’t talking publicly about the lawsuit.
“The matter has been referred to legal counsel and the city has no comment at this time,” Meg Sawyer, the city’s Human Resources and Communications manager, said in an email.
The project has long been the subject of controversy in Lino Lakes, an Anoka County community about 25 minutes north of downtown Minneapolis.
Last spring, residents packed city hall to speak for or against the development, which would bring 434 housing units, commercial development and a mosque to a 156-acre site within the area now subject to a moratorium.
Moratorium supporters say the pause will give the city time to study the impact of new residential development in a 980-acre area framed by Sunset Avenue on the west, Pine Street on the north, Fourth Avenue on the east and Century Trail/Carl Street on the south.
But in the lawsuit, developers Zikar Holdings LLC, Jameel Ahmed, and Faraaz Mohammed allege that defendants Michael Ruhland, Christopher Lyden, and “other members of Lino Lakes City Council” simply “do not want Muslims in their city.”
The project is “in perfect alignment with the city’s comprehensive plan, which calls for mixed residential and commercial development of this property,” according to the 88-page complaint filed in U.S. District Court.
According to the complaint:
- A previous developer proposed a “non-conforming, residential-only development on the same property two years ago.” The City Council “promptly gave it a green light.” After that development fell through, the plaintiffs approached the city about their development plans.
- The plaintiffs’ development is “an even better match for the city’s objective criteria.” But the development includes a mosque, and “many in Lino Lakes, including a majority of the city council, do not want a neighborhood that would attract Muslims or their place of worship.”
- The City Council “adopted a pretextual moratorium prohibiting essential components of plaintiffs’ development only in the corner of the city where plaintiffs planned to build.” The plaintiffs’ project was “the only pending land-use application impacted by the moratorium.”
- One of the defendants was copied on an email “replete with anti-Muslim animus, including “DON’T BELIEVE THE LYING MUSLIMS” and ‘good luck halting the Muslim conquest of Minnesota!’ On his official city email, the defendant replied that it was ‘maybe the best email I have ever received!’”
For his part, Dovolis said the plan is to move forward with the development, pending a favorable ruling from the court.
“There’s demand for it,” he said. “It’s not a market issue at all.”
RELATED: Battle lines drawn over local mosque projects Click here to view a copy of the complaint Copyright © 2024 BridgeTower Media. All Rights Reserved.
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