The Justice Department filed a statement of interest yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, asserting that a church’s claims under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA) are ready for judicial review in federal court.
The statement was filed in Gethsemani Baptist Church v. City of San Luis, a lawsuit alleging that the City of San Luis, Arizona, imposed a substantial burden on the religious exercise of Gethsemani Baptist Church and treated it less favorably than secular institutions. The lawsuit states that since 1999, the Church has operated a Food Ministry as part of its religious exercise, providing food to thousands in need. Recently, however, the City claimed that this use of property and semi-trucks for delivering supplies violated zoning codes and took enforcement actions against the Church.
“Churches have been on the front lines helping to alleviate hunger and meet the needs of those experiencing food insecurity across the country,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Federal law provides broad protection to religious exercise, including for ministries that serve people who are hungry or in need of basic supplies. Once a municipality applies its zoning code to restrict religious exercise, impacted groups do not need to jump through procedural hoops to obtain relief in federal court. The Justice Department is committed to ensuring that religious groups can properly exercise their rights under RLUIPA.”
The City moved to dismiss the lawsuit by arguing that RLUIPA claims could not proceed without applying for a conditional use permit. The department's statement refutes this claim by asserting that such an application would have been futile and that an "individualized assessment" by the City is sufficient under RLUIPA.
RLUIPA is designed to protect religious institutions from burdensome or discriminatory land use regulations. In June 2018, the Justice Department launched its Place to Worship Initiative focusing on protecting worship rights under RLUIPA. More information is available at www.justice.gov/crt/placetoworship.
As part of this initiative, statements have been filed in other cases involving faith-based services such as Micah’s Way v. City of Santa Ana (Central District of California) and St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church et al. v. City of Brookings (District of Oregon). Outreach forums were also hosted with religious leaders at Seton Hall Law School in Newark, New Jersey, and Chapman University Law School in Santa Ana, California.
Individuals who believe they have faced discrimination in land use or zoning decisions can contact relevant authorities or submit complaints through specified portals listed on www.justice.gov/crt/about/hce/rluipaexplain.php.