The City of Port Jervis, New York has agreed to settle a federal lawsuit filed by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) alleging that the City’s revision to its zoning code violated the Religious Land Use &...more
Take a break from the sales and give the Round-Up a read:
ABC Channel 9 in Sioux City reports on a US Justice Department inquiry into the proposed siting of Our Savior Lutheran Church in a former Budweiser warehouse in...more
11/28/2016
/ Churches ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Public Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Religious Institutions ,
Restroom Legislation ,
RLUIPA ,
Transgender ,
Variances ,
Zoning Laws
In an important decision for municipalities across the country, a federal court in Minnesota has recently ruled that actions taken under RLUIPA’s “safe harbor” provision absolved a local government of possible RLUIPA...more
9/23/2016
/ Churches ,
Conditional Use Permit ,
First Amendment ,
Free Exercise Clause ,
Moratorium ,
Municipalities ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Religious Institutions ,
RLUIPA ,
Safe Harbors ,
Summary Judgment ,
Zoning Laws
The Freedom From Religion Foundation sued the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the Morris County Preservation Trust Fund Review Board, and Joseph A. Kovalcik, Jr. (“Defendants”) in New Jersey Superior Court claiming...more
Late last year, Summit Church of Elkins, West Virginia, sued the Randolph County Development Authority (“RCDA”) in the Northern District of West Virginia for preventing the Church from purchasing a local movie theater for...more
The Northern District of Illinois recently had an opportunity to apply the Seventh Circuit’s “accepted zoning criteria” RLUIPA Equal Terms test to a plaintiff’s request for a preliminary injunction in Truth Foundation...more
Vintage Church of Metairie, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana was never a source of neighborhood angst—that is, until the tent came. After merging with another local church in 2010, Vintage’s membership steadily rose. By 2015, the...more
In last week’s, RLUIPA Round-Up we reported about the case Hale v. Federal Bureau of Prisons (D. CO 2015) in which the court found that the Church of the Creator – a white supremacist movement that advocates “total racial...more
A federal court in Nevada recently dismissed a church’s claim that a music festival in “Sin City” Las Vegas featuring the likes of Stevie Wonder, Duran Duran, and Twenty One Pilots burdened its religious exercise....more
On September 24, Rock Church of Easton (Rock Church) filed an “Emergency Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and /or Preliminary Injunction” against the City of Easton, Pennsylvania (the City or Easton) and its Bureau of...more
10/8/2015
/ Affordable Housing ,
Building Codes ,
Building Inspectors ,
Churches ,
Community Development ,
Construction Industry ,
Demolition ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Religious Institutions ,
Restraining Orders ,
RLUIPA
A federal court in Illinois, in Church of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ v. City of Markham, Illinois (N.D. Ill. 2015), dismissed some of the Church’s religious land use claims while allowing others to proceed. The case is...more
8/25/2015
/ Burwell v Hobby Lobby ,
Churches ,
Conditional Use Permit ,
First Amendment ,
Free Exercise Clause ,
Hobby Lobby ,
Open Meetings Act ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Religious Institutions ,
RLUIPA ,
SCOTUS
Religion Clause Blog reports that Indiana’s First Church of Cannabis is using the state’s recently enacted religious freedom law to protect its founder and two members from prosecution for possession of marijuana. The Church...more
7/13/2015
/ American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) ,
Churches ,
Controlled Substances ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Discrimination ,
DOMA ,
Drug Possession ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Freedom From Religion Foundation ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Marijuana ,
Marriage Equality ,
Prayer ,
Religion ,
Religious Institutions ,
RLUIPA ,
Same-Sex Marriage
Independence Day—no better time to reflect on the numerous (enumerated and unenumerated) rights protected by our United States Constitution. Thanks to Obergefell v. Hodges, those rights are now more clearly focused. However,...more
7/3/2015
/ Churches ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Marriage ,
Marriage Equality ,
Obergefell v. Hodges ,
Permits ,
Religious Accommodation ,
RLUIPA ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Zoning Laws
The Danbury Zoning Board of Appeals denied a church’s application for variances to develop an 18-acre parcel with a house of worship and priest residence. Now, Danbury could join the list of Connecticut municipalities that...more
Last week, we reported on the potential impact of Reed v. Gilbert, the sign regulation case that has municipalities across the nation concerned about the enforceability of local sign ordinances. This week, we’re happy to...more
7/1/2015
/ Churches ,
Commercial Speech ,
Content-Neutral ,
First Amendment ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Local Ordinance ,
Municipalities ,
Reed v Town of Gilbert ,
RLUIPA ,
Signs ,
Zoning Laws
Coral Springs, Florida may allow Satanist Chaz Stevens to begin a City Commission meeting with an invocation honoring Satan in September or October. However, Mayor Skip Campbell will first meet with commission members to...more
Although the case is outside the RLUIPA realm or even specific to religious-based speech, the Supreme Court’s decision last week in Reed v. Gilbert will undoubtedly impact RLUIPA Defense readers. We previously reported on the...more
Earlier this year, we reported that the dispute between Jacksonville Beach, Florida and the Church of Our Savior continued to boil in mediation, with attorneys’ fees nearing $700K. After finding that Jacksonville violated...more
We bring you more interesting news from the world of land use, religion and government:
The Chicago Tribune reports that the Village of La Grange, Illinois Planning Commission is considering a proposed zoning code...more
This week, RLUIPA Defense continues its effort to aggregate important new stories reflecting the intersection of religion, land use and local government.
Indiana’s First Church of Cannabis in Indianapolis – Indiana’s...more
6/8/2015
/ American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) ,
Churches ,
Conditional Use Permit ,
Exempt Organizations ,
First Amendment ,
IRS ,
Marijuana ,
Prayer ,
Public Funds ,
Public Meetings ,
RLUIPA ,
Tax Exempt Entities