Star Tribune
Muslim-focused community on hold as Lino Lakes approves building moratorium
There will be no new homes, retail outlets, parks or a mosque built in the northwest quadrant of Lino Lakes — at least for a year.
The Lino Lakes City Council on Monday in a 4-1 vote approved a one-year moratorium on residential development in a 980-acre plot along Main Street roughly between Sunset and 4th avenues, and buy the north metro suburb time to complete a master plan for the area.
Monday’s vote became the latest roadblock for Zikar Holdings, which is pushing to build a Muslim-oriented community to be called Madinah Lakes on the Robinson Sod Farm property. The neighborhood would include single-family homes, townhomes, apartments, a senior living facility and a large mosque in the center. Retail outlets and parks also are part of the proposed development.
“It’s demoralizing,” said Suleiman Adan, deputy executive director for CAIR-Minnesota. “There is always something put in front of these developers.”
Mayor Rob Rafferty requested residents and other stakeholders who signed up to speak during the open comment period Monday refrain from making comments relating to racism and Islamophobia, themes that have emerged in previous meetings as the contentious issue has been debated among those in support and against the project.
Members of the city’s public safety team were present to ensure the meeting remained orderly.
Patty Miller, a 45-year Lino Lakes resident, supported the council’s decision, saying, “Let’s do it right and have well-planned developments, not just well-intended developments.”
Zikar Holdings submitted an application to the city in late April. Since then, at several City Council meetings, some citizens have raised concerns about increased traffic and noise, burdening schools, straining the city’s water system, environmental issues and fears about too much growth too fast.
Minnesota state law allows municipalities to enact moratoriums while they conduct studies to protect the planning process as well as the health, safety and welfare of its citizens.
In the past month, CAIR-Minnesota representatives have claimed the City Council has placed Madinah Lakes under more scrutiny than other projects.
“It’s almost clear from the moment the application for this development was submitted members of the City Council made an attempt to stop it from happening,” Adan said Tuesday. “We wished they had been upfront from the beginning.”
While neither CAIR nor Zikar Holdings have announced their next steps, both have previously said they might take legal action.
But that threat did not dissuade the council from instituting a moratorium, which will go into effect Aug. 15.
“No amount of tactics, intimidation, bullying will taint the legitimacy of our work,” Council Member Chris Lyden said before voting in favor of the moratorium. “Because I don’t agree with you does not make me Islamophobic.”
Michael Ruhland, another City Council member, pointed out that Zikar Holdings submitted its application after the city announced it was looking into enacting a moratorium.
“That does not translate into discrimination,” he said.
Developer Faraaz Yussuf said he was not surprised by Monday’s outcome, adding that it’s not the end of Madinah Lakes. He said Zikar Holdings has claimed 11 miles of roads in Lino Lakes through the “Adopt a Highway” program and has a clean-up day set for July 20.
“We plan to be part of the Lino Lakes community. We are not going anywhere,” he said in a phone interview. “We face these battles in every city we go to. It just gives us a resolve to make the development a reality.”
Police said they will be releasing details Monday about the shooting death of a 23-year-old man last week in New Hope.
Carnell Mark Johnson Jr., of Bloomington, was shot in the chest Thursday in the 7300 block of Bass Lake Road and died that same day at North Memorial Health Hospital, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office said.
A police official said more information will be released about the shooting later Monday. No arrests have been announced.
The fledgling Minneapolis “safety-beyond-policing” department, which has been accused of mismanaging contracts with violence interrupters, is again under scrutiny for requesting nearly $1 million for a business owned by the sister of one of its staff members.
Unanswered questions about the Black Business Enterprises Fund and the purpose of the contract have repeatedly delayed a City Council vote on the contract.
Neighborhood Safety Director Luana Nelson-Brown came before the council’s administration oversight committee on Oct. 7 to argue for giving the business a one-year, $992,400 contract for “capacity building and compliance consulting services.” Black Business Enterprises Fund would use the money to employ a team of 17 experts to coach violence interrupters on financial literacy and how to comply with government accounting requirements.
“A good financial system allows organizations to track their spending accurately, ensuring that funds are used properly and enabling them to prepare regular reports that meet government expectations,” Nelson-Brown said. “It also streamlines invoice reimbursements, which allows us to make more timely payments, and it is necessary for audits and evaluation of program success. I also want to note that these are all things that have been identified as weaknesses.”
Nelson-Brown said the need for the contract is underscored by a lawsuit that accused the city of arbitrarily awarding millions of dollars to violence prevention groups without proper accounting, as well as the “Safe and Thriving Communities” report on building a comprehensive model of public safety. The city commissioned the Harvard University report after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
City Council members have also been pushing for greater accountability in the Neighborhood Safety Department, particularly after a whistleblower complaint shared with council members this year questioned the relationships between contract recipients and department staff. One of the whistleblower’s claims had to do with Black Business Enterprises Fund owner Nancy Korsah, and her sister, Neighborhood Safety Department staffer Georgia Korsah.
On Oct. 7, council members asked Nelson-Brown about that relationship, whether the business had experience working with nonprofits — particularly those that provide violence prevention services — and whether it is an organization capable of helping others build theirs.
Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw said she wasn’t aware of what the Black Business Enterprises Fund had done besides “having a gala.” Council Member Jeremiah Ellison said a review of the organization’s website raised a “red flag.”
A motorcyclist set off a three-vehicle crash on a central Minnesota highway and was killed, officials said Monday.
The wreck occurred about 10:40 p.m. Sunday north of Royalton on Hwy. 10, the State Patrol said.
The motorcyclist was heading east on Hwy. 10 and struck a fish house being pulled by a pickup truck driver. The motorcyclist, a 27-year-old man from Sauk Rapids, Minn., was thrown from his bike and struck a median pillar.
A car heading in the same direction hit the motorcycle.
Occupying the pickup were a 46-year-old driver from Rice, Minn., and a 43-year-old passenger, also from Rice. The car’s driver, a 34-year-old woman from Cobalt, was her vehicle’s only occupant.
Identities of all the people involved in the crash have yet to be released, and there is no word yet on whether anyone was injured other than the motorcyclist.
