The variance request was not for building a spaceport, although many members of the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors contend that spaceships will whisk them away on May 5, 2003. All the Nuwaubians wanted to do, it seems, was build a fraternal lodge where they could celebrate their beliefs, which combine elements of Christianity, Judaism, Islam and ancient Egyptian religions. It was the group's first interaction with the local government in Athens, an eclectic college town.
The Nuwaubians, however, have for some time been locked in a battle with authorities in Putnam County, about an hour south of Athens. There, the group owns a 476-acre compound known as "Tama-Re," or "Little Egypt of the West," where members worship and socialize amongst 40-foot pyramids. The county has repeatedly slapped the Nuwaubians with zoning and building-code violations. Meanwhile, the Nuwaubians, who are mostly African-American, accuse officials of racially motivated harassment.
The Nuwaubians' proposed lodge in Athens would have placed it near a district of historic Victorian homes. At the hearing, neighbors complained of parking woes and planners were skeptical of the project because it involved adding a second floor to an already non-conforming building.
The Athens-Clarke County Board of Adjustments voted down the plan unanimously. Although the Nuwaubians again leveled charges of harassment, their opponents drew parallels to a proposed Wal-Mart that also failed to obtain a zoning variance. "It was a pretty straightforward case," says a planning department spokesman.