Residents of Lino Lakes showed up at a city council meeting on Monday to express their opinions on a proposed housing development that would be anchored by a $15 million, 40,000 square foot mosque.
Known as “Madinah Lakes,” the proposed development has become a contentious issue in the north metro city. Alpha News previously reported that the project would span roughly 156 acres and contain over 450 housing units. These units would include townhouses, villas, senior condos, and other housing lots. Additionally, the site would have restaurants, daycare facilities, a sports complex, retail, and coffee shops.
Developed by a company called Zikar Holdings, Madinah Lakes has been marketed as a “Masjid-centric” community. The word “Masjid” is Arabic for “mosque,” a Muslim house of worship. Lino Lakes residents have expressed a variety of concerns about the community, and many showed up at Monday’s city council meeting to voice their thoughts.
Just hours before the city council meeting, Minnesota’s chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) put out a press release announcing that representatives from their organization would “attend the Lino Lakes City Council meeting to express support for the Madinah Lakes project.”
CAIR-MN alleged that the proposed development “has faced significant opposition fueled by Islamophobic sentiments.” Osman Ahmed, a spokesperson for CAIR-MN, was quoted in the Monday press release as saying, “CAIR-MN stands firm in confronting this discrimination and advocating for the rights and inclusion of Muslim communities in local development.”
At Monday’s city council meeting, the audience seats were full and people lined the walls of the city council chambers. As the public comments progressed, many warned about the consequences of constructing Madinah Lakes, while others spoke in favor of the development. Speakers were given four minutes each to address the council.
At different times, the room broke into applause after speakers concluded their remarks. Subsequently, Lino Lakes Mayor Rob Rafferty informed the room several times that applause would not be tolerated.
One resident addressed the council and said supporters of Madinah Lakes are attempting to “paint the residents’ current concerns as unprecedented and xenophobic. The members of the council know that isn’t true.”
The same resident said people in Lino Lakes are concerned that construction of the development would bring tax increases, additional traffic, hundreds of new students to local schools, and accelerate the speed and density of development in Lino Lakes. The speaker also expressed his concerns about a “clear potential for lack of diversity and inclusivity” at the proposed development.
“This development is being marketed to one specific demographic, and that has one intention and one outcome,” said the resident.
Several who spoke against the development on Monday said they were opposed to any major development in Lino Lakes by any developer.
An architect associated with the Madinah Lakes developer spoke in favor of the proposed project. Among his comments, the architect said Madinah Lakes was less dense than other developments and would follow city code on traffic and parking regulations. Additionally, the architect said the number of new students was being overestimated, and the school district would be fortunate to have more students.
Several speakers, including the architect, said Madinah Lakes would be open to anyone and would not cater exclusively to Muslims.
In a statement to Alpha News, the City of Lino Lakes said it received a Madinah Lakes land use application, but that application was “deemed incomplete” by staff. According to the city, there is a May 13 deadline for a completed land use application to be submitted.
Should a completed land use application be submitted, a series of meetings involving the city’s environmental board, park board, economic development committee, planning and zoning board, and the city council would commence.
However, a Lino Lakes spokesperson informed Alpha News that the city council has scheduled a work session on April 29 to discuss a “potential residential development moratorium.”
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
