The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday a Fremont woman must comply with the city’s orders to remove a Buddhist temple she built without permits on her 29-acre property near Mission Peak.
City officials found in 2021 the temple posed fire hazards and ordered MiaoLan Lee to take them down. Lee says the city discriminated against her.
RELATED: Buddhist temple co-founder files discrimination claim against City of Fremont
In the hills of Fremont, a decade-long battle between the city and co-founder of the Temple of 1,001 Buddhas is now out in the open for all to see.
“Sometimes it makes me wonder if I had been a white woman, would I have been treated differently?” she said. “If I don’t stand up I feel like I am not doing myself a favor or the citizens.”
Lee filed a lawsuit back in 2021 alleging religious, racial and gender discrimination. She claims her white neighbors have been allowed to build without permits or get permits when they should have been denied.
“My neighbor, who has the same slope, the same zoning, the same fire hazard, the same creek and they had unpermitted work over 10 years,” she said. “They were able to get permits for their garage, their cement deck.”