ALPHARETTA, Ga.,None — A federal judge has dealt a potential blow to the city of Alpharetta's efforts to block the expansion of a Mosque.
The Islamic Center of North Fulton is suing the city over its 2010 decision to deny the expansion at its facility on Rucker Road.
In voting for the denial, Alpharetta leaders cited what they believed was an agreement between the center, its neighbors and Fulton County that the center would never expand.
The property was eventually annexed into Alpharetta. Center attorneys said there was no such agreement ever made.
The city also hired professional traffic engineer, G. Edward Ellis, to examine the impact of the expansion on traffic. Ellis concluded that there wouldn't be sufficient parking at the location, but Islamic Center attorneys objected to his conclusion.
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This month, Judge J. Owen Forrester ruled Ellis' statements can't be used in the case because they weren't based on hard facts.
"All he did was park close to the property, observe it, and never go on to the property," attorney Doug Dillard told Channel 2's Mike Petchenik.
Dillard said the judge's decision was "significant."
"Since the denial, they've paid great amount of attention to traffic, parking and access to and from the property," Dillard said.
Wednesday, Alpharetta attorneys filed a motion for the judge to reconsider his decision.
"Mr. Ellis made clear that his opinions are based on his review of the record in light of his extensive experience," Scott Busby wrote in his motion. "…The court should not have excluded his report or deposition, either in part or in whole."
The Justice Department has launched an investigation into the city's decision, but so far there has been no conclusion.
An Alpharetta city spokesman told Petchenik the city couldn't respond about the judge's decision because it's pending litigation.
WSBTV
