Fremont may tear down a Buddhist temple. A civil rights lawyer says: 'They don't want Asians'

June 21, 2021

A quiet Buddhist temple that sits 4 miles up a winding one-lane road high in the Fremont hills seems an unlikely place for a fight over discrimination and freedom of religion. But it became the focus of a civil rights lawsuit Thursday filed by San Francisco attorney Angela Alioto.

The suit contends that the city of Fremont violated the constitutional rights of the Temple of 1001 Buddhas and its founder, MiaoLan Lee, a Buddhist master, who bought the 29-acre property in 2010 on remote Mill Creek Road and began improving it. The temple consists of several buildings and serves as a retreat and a place for people to pray, not a place for public assembly like a church.

But Fremont city officials contend the temple is an illegal use of the property, and that several structures on the site do not meet city building codes and were built without proper permits and inspections. After a series of meetings and two visits by teams of inspectors and armed police, some in riot gear and with a canine unit, the city ordered the temple to demolish three buildings, according to the lawsuit.

Source: Fremont may tear down a Buddhist temple. A civil rights lawyer says: 'They don't want Asians' - San Francisco Chronicle