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Group Opposing Mosque Files Appeal With Temecula Planning Commission

TEMECULA (AP)  — A group opposing plans to build a mosque in an inland city east of Los Angeles has filed an appeal with Temecula's Planning Commission.

An organization called Concerned American Citizens filed the appeal Thursday, arguing that the panel showed favoritism to the Islamic Center of Temecula Valley.

Resident George Rombach writes that the panel violated federal law and the Constitution by favoring the mosque over other religious institutions, which were held to higher standards on

land-use issues like parking and environmental reviews.

The city's director of planning, Patrick Richardson, says his staff treated the mosque like any other religious facility at the long and contentious commission meeting on Dec. 1.

(© Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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