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Council delays order on fire-damaged mosque at 430 Dale St.; requires inspection, deposit and nuisance plan
Summary
After lengthy public testimony from mosque leaders, neighborhood residents and agencies, the council laid over the vacant-building order for 430 Dale St. (Tawhid Islamic Center) to Dec. 17 and required the owners to pay a performance deposit, apply for an inspection and submit a nuisance-abatement plan.
The City Council laid over for follow-up a legislative hearing item ordering rehabilitation or removal of the fire-damaged structure at 430 Dale St. N., commonly known as the Tawhid Islamic Center, while imposing near-term requirements on the owners to address public-nuisance concerns.
Staff described repeated police and service calls, unsanitary conditions and long maintenance neglect at the property since a May 2023 fire and presented it as a vacant, fire-damaged commercial property in the city’s vacant-building program. The hearing drew extensive testimony from owner representatives and community groups who said the structure was the target of a hate-motivated attack and that ongoing insurance litigation has restricted their ability to rebuild; they pleaded for time and resources to restore the center.
Community organizations and neighbors said they sympathize with the mosque but also described ongoing public-safety and sanitation problems—broken windows, needles, human waste and frequent police calls—and urged the city to insist on remediation. Several nearby institutions said they had been cleaning the site at their own expense.
Council Member Buie moved an amendment requiring the owners to: (1) apply for and obtain a city inspection (the department said it could expedite inspection if applied for immediately); (2) post a $5,000 performance deposit; and (3) submit a nuisance-abatement plan outlining security, lighting, regular maintenance and other site controls. The council laid the item over to Dec. 17 to allow time for those items to be completed and reviewed. The motion passed unanimously.
Council members stressed the council’s interest in balancing support for a community recovering from an attack with the neighborhood’s right to safe, well-maintained property. The council and staff said they would work with the owners on an expedited inspection schedule and on what information the nuisance-abatement plan should include.
