The Rutherford County Commission voted 15-6 Thursday night to appeal a court ruling that voided approval of a mosque. “I just can’t imagine an appellate court would agree we should discriminate,” Commissioner Trey Gooch said before the vote.
County Attorney Jim Cope estimates that the legal fee cost to appeal will be in the $15,000 to $25,000 range. While waiting for the appeal to work its way through the courts, Chancellor Robert Corlew’s Wednesday ruling banning the county from issuing a certificate of occupancy to the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro will stand unless it’s overturned or he dissolves it, Cope added.
Commissioners took action in response to the recent court order from Corlew that made approval of the mosque void because the county government failed to provide adequate public notice before approving the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro’s construction plans to build a mosque on Veals Road off Bradyville Pike.
The county’s Regional Planning Commission, which voted to accept the ICM’s long-term site plans for a 52,960-square-foot center, also voted 6-1 Monday to appeal Corlew’s ruling.