Bassam Issa is seen in this file photo.
The Chattanooga City Council unanimously denied a zoning change for a developer who is suing the city for making the same call in 2011.
Council members Tuesday voted against changing the zoning for 1825 Gunbarrel Road, which developer Bassam Issa is trying to have changed from a zone intended for office buildings so he can build an International House of Pancakes.
The council voted 5-3 against the same request last year, and Issa, who owns A.N.T. Group, filed a lawsuit against the council. In his suit, Issa claims former Councilman Jack Benson violated Tennessee’s Open Meetings Act, when he allegedly sent emails to council members before the vote asking them to deny the request. In an amended complaint to the lawsuit filed in February, Issa included emails in which Benson appeared to attack Issa based on his national origin.
The issue is still in Hamilton County Chancery Court, but it is on a 60-day reprieve to allow some possible out of court solution.
Council Chairman Yusuf Hakeem said he put the item back before the council with additional conditions from the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency in hopes of resolving the lawsuit. Ultimately, Hakeem denied the rezoning, along with his fellow council members.