Mosque proposal rejected in Horn Lake

Horn Lake aldermen Tuesday sided with its Planning Commission recommendation and turned away a proposal for a mosque to be built on Church Road. 

Called the Abraham House of God, it was to be constructed between Fogg and Horn Lake roads. A decision had been postponed in March until Tuesday after the Planning Commission initially rejected the plan in late February.  

The vote against the appeal of the Planning Commission ruling came on a 5-1 vote.  Alderwoman LaShonda Johnson voted against the motion and Alderman Jackie Bostick voted “absent.”

Residents in the area initially had protested the building of the mosque due to safety and traffic concerns. The land is zoned Agricultural Residential. 

Alderman John Jones, who represents the area where the mosque would have been located, moved for denial of the appeal and Alderman Donnie “Chigger” White seconded the motion. 

When asked by City Attorney Billy Campbell about Jones’ reasons in the motion, Jones said it was because of the potential for noise in the area, because the water service is not sufficient there to handle the proposed size of the building, and because of the increased traffic the building would attract.  

“Nobody wants the problems that are going to arise,” Jones said. “We’ve got schools right down the road, They say they are not going to do this, but there are lawsuits all over the country about the noise I think we need to stop it before it gets here.”.