CITY SLAPPED, FINED $290,000 FOR DISCRIMINATING AGAINST CHURCH
Settlement ends years-long litigation over building plans for sanctuary
A $290,000 settlement has been reached in a Florida church’s years-long case against a city for refusing permission to build a sanctuary.
Church of Our Savior in Jonville Beach had been holding meetings in a rented wooden chapel, local restaurants and members’ homes. Members bought land for a permanent meeting site, but city officials refused permission, citing the character of the neighborhood.
A court eventually ruled that the city, under federal law, must allow the church to use the land it bought. And now the Alliance Defending Freedom has announced an agreement in which the city must pay “$290,000 in attorneys’ fees and expenses the church incurred to defend its constitutionally and legally protected freedoms.”
“A city’s zoning restrictions cannot be used to single out churches for discrimination, so we are pleased at the outcome of this case,” said Daniel P. Dalton of the Michigan law firm Dalton & Tomich, an ADF affiliate.
He cited the court’s ruling that the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act meant the city couldn’t interfere with the church’s plans to build a facility.
“Last month marked 15 years since the passage of RLUIPA, and this case illustrates its continued importance for all Americans,” he said. “We trust the settlement will demonstrate to other cities around the country that they do a tremendous disservice to taxpayers and to freedom when they attempt to defend actions that violate federal law.”
The conflict developed in 2013 when the city denied the church a permit because city officials said the church’s plans were “not consistent with the character of the neighborhood.”
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida late in 2014 concluded the federal law “prevents the city from discriminating against the church in these kinds of zoning decisions,” ADF said.
The church’s property is adjacent to an amusement park that offers water attractions, miniature golf and laser tag, and the plan was for a 7,400-square foot, one-story building for an estimated 200 worshipers.
The city’s Planning and Development Department had recommended permission be granted for the church to build.
But several neighbors objected, and one member of the planning commission “expressed his belief that the church was not consistent with the character of the neighborhood,” leading to a 5-0 vote to reject the plan.
Since city officials at the staff level had approved of the idea, a second application was submitted, but it was rejected again by the city’s planning commission.
Again, the “public testimony from the Hopson Road neighborhood residents that the use of the property for a religious use was inconsistent with the character of the surrounding properties” was cited.
The city action forced the church to continue “to rotate its locations between a rented public chapel and the back of a hamburger restaurant.”
The lawsuit argued the decision imposed “a substantial burden on the religious exercise” of the church and was not “in furtherance of a compelling government interest.”
The action accused the city of treating “religious assemblies or institutions, including plaintiff, on less than equal terms with non-religious assemblies or institutions.”
“Church of Our Savior can finally build its church building and fulfill its mission to serve its community,” said ADF Senior Counsel Joseph Infranco. “We hope other cities considering similar zoning restrictions will take note of this decision and ensure that their codes fully comport with federal law.”
Copyright 2015 WND
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