By Michael Gryboski, Editor
The United States Division of Justice has expressed abet for a Pennsylvania church that is suing a borough over its refusal to enable it to transfer correct into a neighborhood.
Final year, The Hope Rising Neighborhood Church sued the Borough of Clarion over native officials’ system to reject an application to aquire property in a given neighborhood.
The DOJ filed a statement of hobby on Monday backing the church, which alleges that the borough is violating the Spiritual Land Instruct and Institutionalized People Act.
“The Amended Complaint plausibly alleges a facial equal phrases claim beneath RLUIPA because the C-2 District excludes non secular meeting makes utilize of whereas permitting nonreligious meeting makes utilize of like ‘theaters’ and ‘civic/cultural structures’ even if these makes utilize of all equally affect the zoning district’s ‘regulatory reason,’” be taught the statement of hobby.
“The Church also has standing to raise its facial equal phrases claim. It alleges a concrete injure in that the Borough’s Zoning Code has stymied its efforts to aquire and design the excellent fair property for the Church in Clarion.”
The DOJ went on to argue that “the Court can danger most valuable relief by enjoining the zoning provisions that violate RLUIPA’s equal phrases provision, which may well maybe enable the Church to proceed with its thought to design a church.”
“Zoning codes that limit non secular makes utilize of whereas permitting connected secular makes utilize of violate RLUIPA,” mentioned Deputy Assistant Attorney Long-established Mac Warner of the Justice Division’s Civil Rights Division, in a press liberate issued Monday.
“Central to the Civil Rights Division’s mission is combatting non secular discrimination and guaranteeing that houses of love accumulate equal medication beneath the regulations. We are going to continue to supply protection to the foundational exact of all People to non secular freedom.”
In 2013, the borough adopted a zoning code that prohibits houses of love from owning structures in its three industrial districts, even though it does enable for “civic/cultural structures.”
Hope Rising Neighborhood Church filed its lawsuit against the borough closing November after native officials denied its build a question to to transfer correct into a property situated in the C-2 Industrial District.
In accordance with court paperwork, the church claims it desires the industrial district property to accommodate its 600-member congregation which has outgrown its advise home.
“I am hoping you survey a constructing outside the Borough, because we don’t want any extra Church buildings,” the metropolis supervisor suggested the church, in step with the statement of hobby.
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