STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (AP) - A Detroit suburb that had denied a religious organization’s proposal for a mosque in a residential neighborhood will allow construction to move forward to settle two lawsuits that alleged religious discrimination, U.S. authorities said Wednesday.
The Sterling Heights City Council voted late Tuesday to accept the settlements, including one in a lawsuit brought in December by the U.S. attorney’s office and one filed by the mosque last summer. The settlements still must be approved by a judge.
The 20,500-square-foot mosque was denied in 2015 when the Sterling Heights planning commission voted against a special land agreement sought by the American Islamic Community Center. The city had said the application was denied because of concerns about parking, traffic, and the size of the mosque dome and spires, not because of religion. The city said those issues have been addressed in the settlement.
The Justice Department alleged the city violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000.
“Federal law protects the right of faith communities to build places of worship without discrimination or unreasonable burdens on their religious exercise,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler said in a statement.
As part of the settlements, Sterling Heights also agreed to publicize its non-discrimination policies and practices, undergo training on the requirements of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and periodically report to the Justice Department.
The plan for the mosque called for 130 off-street parking spaces, a 58-foot-high dome and two 66-foot-high spires. Residents opposing the plan during public comment at an Aug. 13, 2015 meeting expressed concerns about traffic congestion.
Mayor Michael Taylor said in a statement that settling the lawsuits are “in the best interest of all the residents of Sterling Heights.”
A final site plan still needs to be approved.
About 300 families are members of the American Islamic Community Center, which holds services and programs in a 10,000-square-foot building in nearby Madison Heights. A majority of its members live in Sterling Heights, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Sterling Heights has two existing mosques, along with Sikh and Buddhist temples and Christian churches of various denominations, the city said.
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