Christian Britschgi at Reason: On Sunday, The New York Times published an in-depth look at a development battle in Lino Lakes, Minnesota, where a local farmer’s plan to sell his land to a developer hoping to build a “Muslim-friendly” community with shops and a mosque provoked a backlash from residents worried about overdevelopment and, in more than a few cases, more Muslims moving to town.
The town has since passed a development moratorium pretty plainly aimed at stopping the planned community—a decision that project supporters chalk up largely to bigotry.
The leader of the slow growth opposition to the development stressed to the Times that he’s not opposed to Muslims moving town but is concerned about the creation of a “segregated” community and overdevelopment generally.
Folks can read the Times story and decide for themselves how big of a factor bigotry played in prompting the town to adopt a building moratorium.
What’s striking about the story is just how ordinary it is. But for the anti-Muslim backlash the planned community received, the Times story could as well have been about countless other efforts to stop new development in exurban America.
More here.
