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Refuge Temple Ministries asks federal court for summary judgment
Refuge Temple Ministries of Atlanta today asked U.S. District Judge Marvin Shoob to declare that a zoning ordinance in the Atlanta suburb of Forest Park violates the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act ("RLUIPA") and the U.S. and Georgia Constitutions. The church had sought permission to use property at 770 Main Street in Forest Park as a place of worship, but the City Council denied the church's special land use permit petition in December, 2000.
Forest Park Ordinance No. 00-12 was adopted on August 7, 2000, and required "churches and other places of worship" to obtain a "special land use permit . . . regardless of zoning classification of district . . ." A memorandum filed with the court today (PDF format, 126 K) notes that the requirement did not apply to other similar assembly uses. "A fraternal order, lodge, theater, restaurant, dance hall or private club would not have been required to apply for a Special Land Use Permit to locate in the C-2 District," as Refuge Temple Ministries was required to do.
"This facial discrimination against religious uses is unconstitutional," the memorandum states. It also violated the church's rights under RLUIPA, which prohibits land use regulation "that treats a religious assembly or institution on less than equal terms with a nonreligious assembly or institution."
Refuge Temple Ministries filed suit against the city on April 12, 2001, and the Forest Park City Council repealed the ordinance on June 4, 2001. But by that time Refuge Temple Ministries had been forced to look elsewhere for a location. Today's filing with the court asks the judge to grant summary judgment on the issue of liability.
Refuge Temple Ministries is represented in the case by The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is involved in many RLUIPA lawsuits on behalf of religious organizations throughout the United States, and by local counsel H. Eric Hilton.