The Lino Lakes City Council voted Monday evening to halt development of a Muslim-focused community that has drawn resistance from several residents, and allegations from supporters that Islamophobia is delaying progress.
The council voted 4-1 to enforce a moratorium after listening to impassioned comments from project detractors and supporters, and after one council member’s comments sparked profanity from the audience. Mayor Rob Rafferty and Council Members Chris Lyden, Michael Ruhland and Dale Stoesz voted in favor of the moratorium. Council Member Tony Cavegn voted against the measure.
The moratorium will take effect August 15 and last a year. Council members said the time will allow city staff to create a master plan for 900 acres of land in the city, which includes the project site. Faraaz Yussuf, president of Zikar Holdings, which proposed the development, vowed not to abandon the project.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Yussuf said after the vote. “In the coming days, you’ll hear a lot more of what we’re wanting to do and the next steps.”
The 156-acre development, Madinah Lakes, is located in northwest Lino Lakes, and would include more than 400 homes, businesses and a mosque.
About a hundred supporters and opponents packed the council chambers. Twenty people testified. Some said the moratorium was “divisive” to the community, and others said the project would help generate revenue for the city.
Melissa Schultz, who has lived in Lino Lakes for more than a decade, testified that she is concerned about increased density and the impact on wildlife. She said she is an architect with experience working on major infrastructure projects across the state.
“This isn’t beneficial for wildlife or natural resources. It can increase heat island effect and doesn’t benefit the existing residents,” she said, adding that she has studied the lot sizes of single-family homes near the project site.
Project supporters said the pushback is Islamophobic.
Council members discussed the matter for about 25 minutes before voting on the moratorium.
“We’re not trying to establish communities, we are establishing neighborhoods within the city – period,” Rafferty said in a brief statement.
Lyden said he received a “cute little form letter” from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) and their attorneys “threatening us,” but didn’t reveal details. Lyden said that “no amount of tactics, intimidation, bullying, will taunt or taint the legitimacy of our work.” CAIR-MN has expressed support for the project and has described the City Council’s actions and project critics as discriminatory.
After receiving the letter, Lyden said, he searched CAIR-MN’s website to learn about the organization.
“They talk about hate crimes, they talk about religious freedom, but they make no mention of the October 7th attack on Israel,” Lyden said of Hamas’ attack on Israel that preceded the Israel-Hamas war. His remarks elicited murmurs from some attendees.
“If you’re worried about your image, CAIR maybe needs to take a hard look in the mirror. Let me be very clear, I don’t have an Islamophoic problem,” he said before he was interrupted by a project supporter who shouted profanity, stirring others to yell.
Raffety rapped his gavel loudly to restore order.
Ruhland said the council “deserves” an apology for accusations that it is Islamophobic and treating the developer unfairly. He also said that the moratorium only applies to the construction of residential homes, so the mosque could still move forward.
Cavegn, who voted against the moratorium, said that Zikar Holdings and city officials agreed on conducting more studies, so there’s no need for a moratorium.
The city’s master plan for the site and other land nearby would address environmental resources, parks and open space, transportation needs and other issues. A different developer wants to build a senior living community on part of the 900 acres.
The master plan will help “better guide” development of the Madinah Lakes project site, according to city officials.
The council also voted unanimously Monday to move forward with a proposed ordinance requiring developers to provide documentation “of proven experience, financial Health, licensing, criminal background, and reputation subject to approval.”
About a thousand people signed a petition supporting the ordinance, said Luke Walter, a Lino Lakes resident and supporter of the moratorium. The city attorney is currently reviewing the ordinance’s legality and plans to share an update on July 22. The ordinance would need to be approved a final time in order to become law.
“When you can’t beat the project, you try to beat the people,” Yussuf said of the proposed ordinance.
Yussuf said his company has invested “a few hundred of thousands” of dollars to develop the project, and that interested buyers have already paid to reserve homes in the development. Zikar put the money into an escrow account, said Yussuf, who declined to say how much money is in the account or how many interested buyers have invested their money.
Yussuf said that Zikar Holdings has a final purchase agreement with the site’s owner, and is the only developer that has a current application in process for the land. The site’s owners have made several attempts to sell the land, which formerly operated as Robinson Sod Farm.
None of the previous developers who tried to buy the land have faced a moratorium or a requirement that the city first create a master plan, the landowners’ spokesman, Brian Robinson, said last week.
According to a city planning document, Lino Lakes residents had dozens of questions about density, traffic and environmental impacts for a previous developer, Integrate Properties, who went through the city’s planning process for the same land before withdrawing its proposal in 2023. Integrate Properties’ project was not focused on the Muslim community.
Several supporters and opponents of the Madinah Lakes project have voiced their concerns at city meetings over the last few months.
Lino Lake residents have testified that they’re worried the project would overwhelm the water supply, increase traffic, harm the environment and crowd schools. Some argue that the developer is “inexperienced,” and that the project needs to be studied more.
Project supporters have testified at previous meetings that the development would bring Muslims together and create a sense of community for those who live in predominantly white suburban neighborhoods.
Yussuf said that the challenges imposed on the development Monday are just the “beginning” of its next chapter.
“The pushback we face in Lino Lakes,” he said, “we face in every city we go to.”
