The Newton County Historic Courthouse will be the site of a public hearing on a proposed mosque on Hwy. 162 and County Line Road tonight.
The hearing will be broken up into two sessions with a capacity of 300 people each — the first one from 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. and the second from 7:45 p.m.-9:15 p.m.
Proposed by Newton County Commissioner John Douglas, District 1, the hearing does not have a format but was to be attended by all five commissioners and the county chair. However, District 5 Commissioner Levie Maddox said he would not attend the meeting.
“After heavy prayer and speaking now as a lifelong Newton County citizen; I have decided I will not attend the Town Hall meeting tonight,” Maddox said in a letter to The News. “I pray that tonight’s conversation is based on words of strong faith, wisdom and passion.”
At its Aug. 16 public meeting the Newton County Board of Commissioners (BOC) voted to have a five-week moratorium on permits for places of worship [http://www.covnews.com/section/1/article/201699/]. Public comment was not taken during that period, and many of the citizens in attendance left following the discussion, prior to the citizen's comment portion of the meeting at the end of the evening.
A mosque has been proposed after a 2015 land sale of two lots totaling 135 acres at the intersection of Hwy. 162 and County Line Road. The land was purchased from Neely Farms Family by Al Maad Al Islami Inc, which owns a mosque in Doraville, on Aug. 26 for a total of $675,900 from Neely Family Farms, LLC. A place of worship, cemetery and possible school were planned for the land.
A use permit was granted on June 16, 2015, by Newton County Developmental Services without a public hearing or notice because the county ordinance permits places of worship in all zoning areas. Cemeteries are also permissible in areas zoned agriculture residential, as long as the property is at least 10 acres in size and all graves are set back 40-feet from property or right-of-way lines, according to Section 510-151 of the Newton County Zoning Ordinance.
Since the land sale was announced, the public has been outspoken about a mosque in Newton County. Many citizens showed up at the courthouse on Aug. 16, and many more have taken to social media to express their displeasure with a mosque.
The BOC unanimously agreed to Monday tonight’s hearing in order to hear some of the concerns and learn more about the proposed use of the 135 acres.
“Upon reflection, I believe that scheduling this particular meeting did not show wisdom; as it only further divides our charming little community and in particular it puts public safety at risk,” Maddox said. “Newton County does not need to display a trampling of the 1st Amendment to the world. Speaking as part of a small business, the moratorium needs to be reversed next Tuesday night, as it only hurts our local businesses.”
