Appeals court says ‘preserving neighborhood character’ is not a sufficient justification for denying meditation center zoning request

For the second time, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has weighed in on a property use dispute between the city of Mobile, Alabama, and the Thai Meditation Association of Alabama (TMAA), which – since 2015 – has sought to convert property currently zoned as residential into a meditation center. The city denied the rezoning request, citing traffic and neighborhood concerns, and that sparked a lawsuit.