The San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today announced the submission of a California Public Records Act request to the Town of Los Gatos seeking records related to the 33 conditions placed on West Valley Muslim Association (WVMA), the town’s only mosque.
SEE: CAIR-SFBA’S PUBLIC RECORDS ACT REQUEST
The request seeks records related to WVMA’s permit process, comparable land-use decisions, recent changes to Los Gatos permit policies, and how the town applies conditions to houses of worship and other community-serving institutions.
CAIR-SFBA is seeking transparency into how the challenged conditions were developed and whether WVMA was held to a stricter or more burdensome standard than comparable institutions.
CAIR-SFBA recently urged the Los Gatos Town Council to grant WVMA’s appeal challenging 19 of the 33 conditions attached to the mosque’s permit, citing concerns about religious freedom, equal treatment, and compliance with federal law.
The challenged conditions include annual compliance reviews, restrictions on religious activities, attendance limits below the Fire Code limit, parking and traffic requirements, expanded communication mandates, and capital improvement requirements.
WVMA’s appeal argues that several of the challenged conditions violate the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, a federal law that protects religious institutions from discriminatory or unnecessarily burdensome land-use restrictions.
In a statement, CAIR-SFBA Civil Rights Managing Attorney Jeffrey Wang said:
“When a town imposes numerous restrictions on its only mosque, the community deserves to know how those conditions were developed and whether they were applied fairly. This Public Records Act request is about transparency, equal treatment, and ensuring that WVMA is not held to a different, more burdensome standard than other houses of worship or even non-religious institutions.
“Land-use decisions must comply with the law. The public records sought can help answer the central question in this dispute: whether WVMA was treated like other religious institutions or singled out for different treatment.”
CAIR-SFBA continues to urge Los Gatos officials to grant WVMA’s appeal.
CAIR-SFBA is an office of CAIR, America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR-SFBA Communications Manager Lorrie Adam, 408.498.5779, ladam@cair.com
