A previous version of this story said Abbas works for the Salvation Army. That is not correct. While Abbas once worked for the Salvation Army, he's no longer employed by them.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Former Knoxville City Council candidate Ray Abbas says he wants Knox County Commission to take another look at the possibility of placing a housing development for the chronically homeless on Debusk Lane in west Knox County, otherwise he may file a lawsuit against the county alleging that commissioners violated the federal Fair Housing Act when they voted not to fund the development.

Proponents of the Knoxville Ten Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness wanted to purchase property 125 Debusk Lane that would be developed into permanent housing for 23 people. Commissioners voted against the proposal that would have allowed the Ten Year Plan to purchase the two-acre property for the appraised value, up to as much as $500,000 dollars. Commissioners Amy Broyles and Mark Harmon, both Democrats from the 2nd district, were two of the four commissioners who voted for the proposal. They, along with Ten Year Plan representatives said the property likely would have cost the county much less than the half-a-million dollars maximum price tag that became one of several issues at play.

Commissioners Sam McKenzie (D-1st) and Finbarr Saunders (D-4th) also voted for the proposal. The other 15 commissioners voted against it.

"We can't discriminate housing, and so if we are saying we are unwilling to pay fair market value to buy land to build permanent, supportive housing for chronically homeless in this area, then we are excluding them," Commissioner Broyles said in Nov. 2009, when the issue first went before commission.

Abbas says commissioners voted against the proposal for politically expedient reasons, because many West Knox County residents opposed the development. Homeowners also cited the presence of the elderly and a nearby liquor store close to the proposed development in urging commissioners to vote against the proposed complex.

Abbas, an advocate for the homeless who works with local charities, says those reasons don't hold water under the Fair Housing Act. He claims that commission discriminated against the chronically homeless--a group he says is protected under the act because, by definition, the chronically homeless have some sort of disability. The Fair Housing Act protects against discrimination based on handicap.

Abbas says he's passing along the information he's gathering to Tricia Herzfeld, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union in Tennessee. A call to the ACLU was not returned, but Abbas said he talked to Herzfeld, who said it's too early for the ACLU to comment publicly about the possibility of a lawsuit.

While he's prepared to move forward with legal action, Abbas says he'd rather see the commission reconsider the proposal with all the facts--something he said didn't happen the first time.

"We're not trying to create an adversarial relationship here, we're just trying to ensure that what is right is right," Abbas said. "Some commissioners said postponing the decision was pointless, because it wouldn't change their decision, That tells me that the facts are not pertinent to their decision...They have political careers to consider."

Commissioner Mike Hammond (R-5th), whose district includes the Debusk Lane property, said the would-be developer said during the November meeting that he couldn't wait to move forward, so commissioners decided to go ahead and vote.

"That said, I don't think it would changed the outcome," Hammond said. "The threat of a litigation has been there, it was brought up at the meeting, so anyone who feels they need to move froward with a lawsuit should do so."

Hammond says several people mentioned the possibility of lawsuit in urging commission to approve the plan.

Lockett says there's nothing in commission's rules preventing them from taking the issue under consideration a second time.