Well, the Kennesaw City Council has apparently had a change of heart less than two weeks after its 4-1 vote to deny a land-use permit.

It seems that back in July—just five moths before they put the kibosh on the mosque—they voted unanimously to allow a Pentecostal church to use a 4000 sq. ft. unit in a retail center. I wonder if the “Notice of Constitutional Challenge” letter the Muslim applicant’s attorney sent them had something to do with their epiphany?

This is very similar to what happened in Bensalem, except the Muslims in Kennesaw did’nt actually file suit.

Emphasis is mine:

KENNESAW — The City Council took a step toward reversing its decision to deny a Muslim applicant from using space in a retail center as a mosque at its Wednesday meeting.

Mayor Mark Mathews said the City Council would reconsider the 4-1 vote it made on December 1 to deny the mosque in the retail center on Jiles Road at its next meeting on Monday.

Mathews said all four council members who voted to deny the mosque asked the mayor to change their previous vote Wednesday night in private. […]

Rick Gaswint, a Kennesaw resident who supports the mosque, said he didn’t mind the debate, he just hoped for a reversal of the council’s vote to deny the mosque. […]

“There’s been a big issue about how close the nearest mosque is — whether it’s 20 miles away or 10 miles away. Why does that matter? I’d like you to drive two miles and not find another church,” Gaswint said.

Naturally, some residents are very upset with the City Council now because creeping Sharia, or terrorism, or [insert irrational fear here].

Oh, and traffic/parking concerns, because like the black friend the racist always claims s/he has, they invariably appear in these discussions.

David Haspel, a Kennesaw resident whose wife, Ashley, owns Lockett Color Salon inside the Jiles Road retail center, said he thinks the mosque will hurt their business if the two have to share a parking lot.

“I’d like to see a retail center stay a retail center,” Haspel said.

Haspel said he’s concerned there won’t be enough parking places for the salon’s customers during the frequent prayer times at the mosque. […]

Uh-huh. I just… *SIGH*

On the other hand, it’s reassuring to see that Kennesaw also has some more rational, tolerant residents (like Mr. Gaswint, was mentioned earlier in the article) who are also outspoken.

Gaswint said the concerns of many residents aren’t based on the facts, but on a fear that he can’t understand.

“They’re every bit as American as I am, but because they have a religion that has been hijacked by extremists and skewed by the media, they’re not allowed to practice their religion like everyone else? I don’t understand that,” Gaswint said.

More: Kennesaw to revisit mosque vote

I forgot that I’d said I was going to start posting the racial demographics of the cities & towns where there’s a kerfuffle over the building of mosques to see if there were any patterns. Here’s the info for Kennesaw, according to the 2010 census:

58.9% Non-Hispanic White
22.3% Black or African American
10.8% Hispanic or Latino of any race
5.3% Asian
4.7% from other race
3.0% Non-Hispanic Mixed of two or more races
0.4% Native American
0.02% Pacific Islander

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennesaw,_Georgia#Demographics

A situation similar to this one recently ended up costing a New Jersey town’s taxpayers millions: Bridgewater, NJ Mosque Settlement: $7.75 Million