Religious Discrimination in Zoning

Our Nashville office is handling several cases involving zoning restrictions imposed upon churches or other religious organizations.

We recently represented a church in Indiana that had been denied a zoning permit to operate in the countys neighborhood and business zoning district. In January 2009, a couple entered into a contract for the purchase of property for the purpose of furthering their religious goals and mission by starting a church. Upon purchasing the property, the church was notified that they would be required to obtain approval from the countys Board of Zoning Appeals to use the property as a place of worship. The county then denied the churchs permit to operate as a place of worship despite the countys prior approval of numerous similarly situated non-religious uses.

Upon investigation by the ACLJ, it became clear that the countys zoning ordinance was discriminatory on its face and treated places of worship differently than other similar non-religious land uses such as private clubs and lodges. We sent a demand letter to the county stating that the zoning ordinance, as written and as applied to the church, violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). The Equal Protection Clause dictates that religious land uses may not be restricted more than similar non-religious uses. Similarly, RLUIPA prohibits land-use regulations that either disfavor religious uses or unreasonably exclude religious uses from a particular jurisdiction.

Upon receipt of our letter, the county agreed to amend its zoning ordinance to allow churches by right in the zoning district and treat similarly situated religious and non-religious uses equally. The church will now be able to use the property it purchased as a place of worship.

In addition, we represent a Christian organization in Arkansas that provides a home to children who have been abused or neglected. The organization has been denied a permit by the City of Jonesboro to operate a home for approximately 8-10 children on a secluded 10.57 acre ranch because the children living in the home are not related by blood or marriage as defined by the City of Jonesboros definition of a family. The citys reasons for denying the permit were both arbitrary and capricious and constituted a violation of federal law, including the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and RLUIPA.

Recently, we sent a demand letter to the City that explained that the citys actions violated several federal laws and demanded that the city provide the organization a reasonable accommodation as required by federal law.
 
We also represent Albemarle Teen Challenge, a Christian, non-profit, religious organization that provides rehabilitative services to people suffering from addictions. In 2008, Teen Challenge applied for a zoning permit from the City of Elizabeth City, North Carolina to operate a womens residential home to minister to women with life-controlling problems. The single family home had been donated to the organization to assist it in expansion of its outreach program. The city refused to grant Teen Challenges numerous requests for zoning approval due to the purpose for which Teen Challenge planned to use the home: to minister to women suffering from addiction.

We filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina against the City of Elizabeth City for its deliberate violation of Teen Challenges rights under the United States and North Carolina Constitutions as well as the FHA, Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), and RLUIPA. The FHA and ADA prohibit the government from using land ordinances and methods of administering those ordinances for the purpose of subjecting an individual or organization to discrimination on the basis of their handicap.

We will keep you informed as these cases develop.