Lino Lakes City Council halts Madinah Lakes project, Muslim leaders say process was discriminatory
LINO LAKES, Minn. — A controversial real estate project in the north metro has been dealt a setback.
On Monday, the Lino Lakes City Council tabled a proposal for the Madinah Lakes project. The 3-2 decision was made despite the fact a moratorium vote is set for next week.
The developers say the project would turn 156 acres of a sod farm into a Muslim-friendly community with housing, a variety of businesses and a mosque.
Local Muslim leaders with the Council on American-Islamic Relations on Tuesday said they are frustrated and disappointed that the process appears to be discriminatory.
"For the past three months, we have seen hundreds of people show up to every city council meeting or planning meeting. And in those meetings, people have continuously projected Islamophobic, anti-Muslim statements in why they do not want this project to move forward," Jaylani Hussein, executive director of CAIR-MN, said.
Hussein is calling upon the residents of Lino Lakes and surrounding areas to contact the City Council "and let them know that this is unacceptable."
Community members in favor of pausing the project talked to us at a meeting back in April. They told us their concerns are about the safety and cost of building on a sod farm, not the mosque.