BAYONNE -- A federal lawsuit filed against the city asserts the Bayonne Zoning Board violated federal law by denying a Muslim group's application to build a mosque and community center on the east side of town.

The complaint, which was filed in federal court Thursday afternoon, argues that the city of Bayonne and its zoning board violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) by denying approval for the plan based on factors board members were not legally permitted to consider.

RLUIPA is a federal statute that protects churches and other religious institutions from burdensome zoning law restrictions of their property use.

The plaintiffs, Abdul Hameed Butt and Khaled Aly -- the president and vice president of the Bayonne Muslims, respectively -- assert that the zoning board's denial of the proposed house of worship was influenced by "anti-Muslim community animus," according to the complaint.

"As is happening in towns across America, phony zoning issues were used to block our mosque because of bigotry against Muslims," Butt said in a statement. "The zoning board subjected our application to completely different standards to those it applied to Christian churches."

The plaintiffs are being represented by Adeel A. Mangi and Muhammad Faridi of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP in Manhattan. The attorneys represented an Islamic society in Bernards Township in a similar case, where a mosque was denied by the city's planning board.

The Bayonne Muslims' lawsuit seeks undetermined compensatory damages and a reversal of the zoning board's decision.

John "Jay" Coffey II, Bayonne's law director, said the city received the 119-page lawsuit shortly before 1 p.m. but declined to comment, citing a policy of not discussing ongoing litigation.

In March, the city's Zoning Board denied the Bayonne Muslims' application to establish a religious community center at 109 East 24th St. citing traffic and parking issues on the dead-end street.

The Bayonne Muslims, a nonprofit group in the city, had been searching for a permanent home while it rented out the basement of the St. Henry's School for prayer services.

The two-and-a-half year process created a fervent reaction from people on both sides of the issue. It all came to a head during a heated six-hour meeting March 6, when the zoning board voted 4-3 in favor of granting the group variances , but ultimately failed to pass it because a five-vote super majority was not reached.

The mosque was proposed for a residential zone, but because of its zoning consideration as a "conditionally permitted use" property, the plan needed to meet three requirements: a total of 20,000 square feet of space, the building must be set back 30 feet its property lines, and a 5-foot visual buffer must be established between adjacent properties.

A scene from the Bayonne Zoning Board meeting at Bayonne High School on Monday, March 6, 2017.

Because the proposal did not meet two of the three criteria -- the 30-foot setback and the buffer requirement -- the Bayonne Muslims sought variance relief from the board.

However, the suit asserts that the three dissenting votes on the zoning board -- which came from Chairman Mark Urban, Commissioner Edoardo Ferrante Jr., and Commissioner Louis Lombari -- did not cite sufficient evidence of testimony related to the setback and buffer issues.

While discussing his vote, Urban said "there is definitely not parking in the area to handle all of what this applicant wants to bring... I passed the area several times and I have to differ with the traffic survey. I didn't see no hundred spots," according to minutes from the March 6 meeting.

Ferrante and Lombari cited their own opinions as to whether or not the community center belonged in the neighborhood.

Lombari told the audience that "the approval of this community center, I do believe would be negative impact to this neighborhood."

But the lawsuit argues the three board members based their no-votes on concerns unrelated to the setback and buffer variances the nonprofit group was seeking.

"The Zoning Board was not permitted to consider other issues -- such as traffic or the appropriateness of the neighborhood for a mosque -- in making that determination," the lawsuit states.

Additionally, the suit alleges that the mosque application actually received the requisite number of votes -- four -- in regard to a parking variance for the area, but was nonetheless denied by the board, according to the complaint.

Ultimately, the zoning board "failed to identify any compelling governmental interest requiring denial of the setback and buffer variances as required by federal law," the suit states.

As a result, the city violated RLUIPA by imposing a "substantial burden" onto a house of worship, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit cites two similar approvals the zoning board made in 2011 and 2012 for houses of worship.

In 2011, the zoning board granted a variance to the Virgin Mary and St. John Coptic Orthodox Church at 22 West 20th St. despite observing that the applicant did not satisfy any of the three requirements for a conditional use variance, according to the lawsuit.

In 2012, the board granted Iglesia Ni Cristo church at 280 Ave. E. a variance similar to the one the Bayonne Muslims sought, the lawsuit said.

While the Iglesia Ni Cristo plan was being approved, the Bayonne Muslims had begun their search for a permanent location for a community center. After consulting with city officials for the appropriate land in the city, according to the lawsuit, the group purchased the property at 109 East 24th St. in July 2015 for $1 million.

The property on East 24th Street had previously been owned by Bayroff, Max Corp., a manufacturer and distributor of roofing products and sheet metal, according to the complaint.

The Bayonne Muslims began their plans to convert the property into a mosque in August 2015. The complaint also states that the plaintiffs "endured years of bigotry and hate crime from those opposed to the mosque," including anti-Muslim rhetoric that was spray-painted on the outside of the St. Henry's School building.

The suit argues the anti-Muslim sentiment from a segment of community contributed significantly to the zoning board's decision to vote down the plan.

The Bayonne Muslim's currently have no place to worship; the lease they rented for the St. Henry's School expired in January.

"I have lived in Bayonne since 1979. I own businesses and a home here. I raised my daughters here. This is my city, just as a much as an other resident. We will fight for the rights that our Constitution gives every American," Aly said in a statement.