RLUIPA.org
Hawaiian Church Wins Decade-Long Battle to Build Sanctuary
From: The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty1350 Connecticut Avenue NW – Suite 605
Washington, D.C. 20036
Contact: Jared N. Leland, Esq.: (202) 349-7206
Kelly Jane Torrance: (202) 349-7202
Rubenstein Associates, Inc.
Public Relations -- (212) 843-8085Contact: Jim Grossman
For Immediate Release: Nov. 16, 2004
Hawaiian Church Wins Decade-Long Battle
After a heated decade-long battle for the right to worship, a small
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a
"Yesterday's settlement is an excellent example of how churches and counties are able --eventually -- to work together at the bargaining table to further the interests of both parties," said Becket Fund Executive Vice President and Director of Litigation Roman P. Storzer, an attorney on the case. "RLUIPA – the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act -- is the vehicle by which they're encouraged to do so."
Hale O Kaula has been holding worship services in the small Hawaiian community of Haiku since 1960. Their previous facility of less than a half-acre was inadequate for the faith community. After trying unsuccessfully to buy property that would allow the church to expand there, the congregation bought a six-acre piece of agricultural land in
After their second permit denial, the church filed suit in federal court under RLUIPA, arguing that "By denying Plaintiffs the ability to use their agricultural property as a place of worship, the
Yesterday's hearing before the Maui Planning Commission was the culmination of a six-month mediation process that offered the County a final chance before the case went to trial to reconsider its permit denials and lift the burden that those denials imposed on the church's religious exercise. After the church reaffirmed its willingness to abide by reasonable conditions, the Planning Commission unanimously voted to grant the permit and allow the church to pursue its ministry.