Support and disapproval continues in the north metro surrounding a major development with a mosque as its center point.

While Monday’s Lino Lakes City Council meeting did not have the development on the agenda, it was the main focus for community members who spoke during public comment.

‘Madinah Lakes’ would be a 156-acre site that includes housing, a daycare, grocery store and other retail, but its developer, Faraaz Yussuf, feels the community’s concerns are rooted in the place of worship.

“We’ve got a plan to build a mosque in the middle, which is the biggest contention point in this development,” Yussuf said.

Still, he feels this is the right fit for the city.

“The northern metro has a huge kind of growth of Muslim population,” Yussuf added.

In recent weeks, though, there’s been pushback — opponents have raised concerns about added stress on infrastructure, additional traffic and overcrowding of schools.

And now, according to the city, the council has “expressed interest in adopting a moratorium on all residential developments in the northwest area of the city to allow time to conduct a master planning process.”

However, the city states a timeline isn’t set for when a moratorium could start, telling 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS it’s still preparing information to be reviewed by the council.

At the most recent Lino Lakes City Council meeting, community members had their first opportunity to share their thoughts about that possible moratorium — which would be one year if implemented.

“Why a moratorium, and why now?” expressed one community member in support of the project to the council.

“Let me be clear, the Love Lino Lakes group opposes all large-scale developments within Lino Lakes, we do not discriminate,” said another who opposes Madinah Lakes.

A representative with the Minnesota Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) also shared, letting council members know they feel a moratorium would be discriminatory.

CAIR-MN is also making that known in a letter to Lino Lakes city leaders, Gov. Tim Walz, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and the state’s U.S. Attorney’s Office, writing, in part, they’re prepared to take legal action if needed.

If the council does move forward with a moratorium, the city says there would be a public hearing.

As of Monday night, the mayor and city council members did not respond to KSTP’s request for an interview.