Culpeper County, VA

In early 2017, the Islamic Center of Culpeper (ICC) settled its lawsuit against the County of Culpeper for denying a pump and haul sewage permit for a new mosque construction in a rural zoning district where religious land use was permitted by right. The U.S. Department of Justice had filed a separate lawsuit against the county alleging religious discrimination.

Lauren Dumesnil and Mary Yuan

2016

5,000 square-foot mosque on a one-acre property, including a library, playroom, youth Room, prayer rooms, parking lot

Culpeper County granted the pump and haul permit and approved the site plan after settling ICC’s lawsuit against the county in April 2017.

Narrative 

In January 2016, The Islamic Center of Culpeper (ICC) was looking for a place for a new worship facility. Since 2013, ICC had held prayers and educational activities for children in a small house with inadequate facilities. In 2016, the community made a $1,000 down payment for one acre of land within an R-1 zoning district, where religious facilities were permitted use. The ICC intended to demolish a dilapidated structure on the property and replace it with a small mosque that could hold up to one hundred people for religious gatherings. Mohammed Nawabe, President of ICC, then contacted the Zoning Administrator and Acting Planning Director, Sam McLean, to inquire about the proper forms required to build a mosque on the land. The health department told Nawabe that the community would need a pump and haul permit because the property did not have access to the county sewage system. ICC's application was scheduled for discussion at the County's Board Meeting on March 1, 2016.

Before the meeting,  Kurt Christensen, a local Republican leader, sent several emails to county officials and local media concerning ICC's application (Johnston, Mar 1, 2016). In response to questions from a local reporter, Christensen subsequently admitted that using the property for "Islamic" activities had been a motivating concern (ibid.). At the March 1 Board meeting, the County Attorney requested additional time to review the ICC's application. This caused the Board to table the permit request for 30 days until its next meeting on April 5 (Islamic Center of Culpeper v. County of Culpeper, 2017). 

Public opposition intensified after the March 1 board meeting. In addition to emails and phone calls to county officials, anti-mosque residents publicly displayed a banner that said "No Islamic Center" along with the April 5 hearing date and Chairwoman Fritz’s name and contact information (Islamic Center of Culpeper v. County of Culpeper, 2017). On April 2nd, Chairwoman Fritz emailed County Administrator Ergenson about the emails and phone calls she received regarding the mosque project (ibid.). 

The Board took up ICC’s application for a pump and haul permit again at its April 5 meeting. County staff recommended approval of the permit. During the Board's discussion, three Supervisors spoke out against approval, remarking that pump and haul permits should be granted only in emergencies and that ICC’s application did not constitute sufficient evidence of hardship. In the end, the Board voted 4-3 against the approval of the application. People in opposition to the ICC application cheered and applauded the denial. Subsequently, the County took steps to prevent ICC from its plan to build a mosque by imposing two consecutive 120-day moratoria on any new pump and haul applications in August and November 2016, thereby preventing ICC from re-applying. In January 2017, the Board's Rules Committee established an onerous new pump and haul policy, stating that "except in the rarest of circumstances and upon sufficient demonstration of extreme hardship conditions," the County does not support pump and haul as a permanent sewage solution. The new policy also required the Board to consider petitions for permanent pump and haul licenses case-by-case (Islamic Center of Culpeper v. County of Culpeper, 2017). 

The Board's On December 12, 2016, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Culpeper County, alleging that the County violated the terms of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act or RLUIPA (United States v. Culpeper, 2017). In March of 2017, the ICC, represented by Muslim Advocates, a national civil rights organization, filed a separate lawsuit against Culpeper County for discrimination (Islamic Center of Culpeper v. County of Culpeper, 2017). The ACLU also supported ICC’s legal case. Both suits claimed that the County's board members allowed anti-Muslim community members to influence the Board's decision. It had previously issued more than twenty similar permit requests with little discussion (Vote to settle mosque dispute is the right call for Culpeper, 2017, April 29). On April 21, 2017, the County of Culpeper and the ICC settled the case. 

The settlement agreement required the County to approve the ICC's original application and pay ICC $10,000 for expenses resulting from the denial. However, the County did not have to admit any wrongdoing. In September 2017, the court dismissed the DOJ's lawsuit since the County had granted the needed permit to the ICC. The County agreed to take other steps to prevent further violation of RLUIPA (United States v. Culpeper, 2017). By January 2019, the Islamic Center of Culpeper had completed the site plan and raised about $107,000 for Culpeper County's first-ever mosque (Brophy Champion, 2019, Jan 4). By April 2020, mosque construction was nearly complete (Jennings, 2020, Apr 26). 

References

• Brophy Champion, A. (2019, January 4). After resolution of federal lawsuit, Culpeper's first mosque is on course for 2020. Richmond Times-Dispatch: Web Edition Articles (VA). Available from NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current: https://infoweb-newsbank-com.proxy.library.emory.edu/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88.
• Islamic Center of Culpeper v. County of Culpeper, Virginia. (United States District Court: Western District of Virginia, March 9, 2017). Available at https://muslimadvocates.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Court-Case_2017.03.09_ICC-v.-Culpeper_Complaint.pdf. 
• Jennings, E. (2020, April 26). Culpeper mosque construction nearly complete. Free Lance-Star, The (Fredericksburg, VA), p. 3C. Available from NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current: https://infoweb-newsbank-com.proxy.library.emory.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=news/17A961C6CB66B768.
• Johnston, D. (2016, March 1). Culpeper board delays vote on Islamic prayer house permit. TCA Regional News. https://login.proxy.library.emory.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/wire-feeds/culpeper-board-delays-vote-on-islamic-prayer/docview/1769273608/se-2?accountid=10747 
• United States America v. County of Culpeper, Virginia. (United States District Court: Western District of Virginia, September 1st, 2017). https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/virginia/vawdce/3:2016cv00083/105798/120/
• Vote to settle mosque dispute is the right call for Culpeper. (2017, April 19). Culpeper Star-Exponent (VA). Available from NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current: https://infoweb-newsbank-com.proxy.library.emory.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=news/163E5846EB42D440.