RLUIPA.org
RLUIPA gives Key Biscayne, FL, its first Jewish house of worship
Becket Fund advised Village to invoke "safe harbor" provision
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty applauds a decision by the Village of Key Biscayne, FL, to approve a Jewish congregation's request to establish a small, 49- person Chabad in the Village. The Becket Fund, through testimony and an advisory letter, had warned the municipality that denying the request would run afoul of federal law and the U.S. Constitution.
The Village Council voted 5-2 last night to invoke the "safe harbor" provision of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, a 2000 law that codifies constitutional principles derived from the First and Fourteenth Amendments. As a letter from Village Manager Jacqueline Menendez noted, "RLUIPA grants local government the power to waive governmental regulations and approve houses of worship where the government finds that its regulations may impose a substantial burden of the exercise of religion."
"Absent a variance, there was no location in Key Biscayne where its zoning laws permitted a new house of worship, a clear violation of RLUIPA and the Constitution," noted Becket Fund Director of Litigation Derek Gaubatz, who testified in front of the Council. "We're happy the Council understood that Key Biscayne's Jewish community needed a house of worship to practice their religion no less than did the other groups that practice theirs in the Village."
At the recommendation of The Becket Fund, the Village also pledged to undertake a comprehensive review of its zoning laws and rewrite them to comply with RLUIPA. "It's simply un-American to exclude new houses of worship from any city," declared Gaubatz. "To its credit, the Village, with a push from RLUIPA, is acting to correct this problem."
The Becket Fund--a nonpartisan, interfaith, public-interest law firm that protects the free expression of all religious traditions--had encouraged the Village to invoke this "safe harbor" provision in its oral testimony and advisory letter.
Rabbi Yoel Caroline's plan to use his property to provide the first Jewish house of worship in Key Biscayne's history met resistance from neighbors, who believed that a Chabad would be incompatible with the area, despite the fact the property sits across the street from two Christian churches.
Resources & Documents
- Village of Key Biscayne resolution (PDF, 4KB)