Gwinnett County Commissioners delay voting on a zoning application that would allow a mosque to move forward with its expansion.

The commission is considering a re-zoning application by the Darus Salam mosque. They want to build a 20,000 square-foot, two-story mosque with towers. It would take the place of an unassuming building along Cruse Road and Pleasant Hill.

"I'm just against it 100 percent," Nancy Lynn told the Gwinnett County Commissioners.

"They are trying to turn a neighborhood into a mosque," said Myron Ferguson.

Last week in Lilburn a different mosque was asking for a re-zoning change to expand. The Lilburn Zoning Commission meeting was over before it began and shouting ensued. The meeting has been rescheduled for November.

Darus Salam is not related to the Lilburn mosque, but the neighborhood sentiment was the same - "not in my backyard." The Sunni organization has been at its Cruse Road location for seven years. They currently worship in a small wooden building.

Tufail Hamad attends the mosque and said, "We do understand there will be a concern. All of Gwinnett County has the concern. We have done everything on our side. I don't doubt the community is about discrimination. It is about the concerns they have."

Neighbors against the mosque say the issue is traffic and parking.

One woman told commissioners, "It is not about the mosque itself. It's about how they conduct themselves toward the neighborhood.

The mosque said they need the space to accommodate a growing number of worshipers. They have bought the surrounding property. In addition to the mosque, they are planning a small strip mall with stores downstairs and a library upstairs.

County staff recommended the re-zoning application be denied. The Commission is delaying their vote. Commissioner Kevin Kenerly, who represents the district, says he wants to go out and see the traffic issues for himself.