Michigan church wins right to worship in storefront

By Alicia Benjamin-SamuelsThe Freedom Forum Online

01.04.01

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When the Rev. David Bailey wanted to move his Sunday services from a local high school to a small shopping center in Grand Haven, Mich., he met opposition from city officials. But a settlement reached last month will allow the Haven Shores Community Church to occupy a small storefront in the city's South Village Plaza.

In 1999, the city refused to grant the church a building permit to modify the space. The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, based in Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit on behalf of the church on March 10, 2000, claiming that Grand Haven had violated the church's constitutional rights to freedom of speech, religion, assembly, due process and equal protection under the law.

On Dec. 20, U.S. District Judge David McKeague signed a consent order allowing the church to move into the storefront.

The Becket Fund says the case is the first to be settled under provisions of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, signed last September by President Clinton.

This settlement is "a very satisfying victory, both because it represents the first successful lawsuit under RLUIPA and because Grand Haven ultimately recognized the fact that the U.S. Constitution provides important protections for the free exercise of religion that are too often violated by local zoning ordinances around the country," said Becket Fund President Kevin Hasson in a news release.

"This case is a wake-up call for other communities that assume they have nearly unlimited latitude in using zoning laws to severely restrict churches and other religious organizations," Hasson said.

Michael S. Bogren, attorney for the city, would not comment on the case. But a news release, issued Jan. 2 by the city, states that "the City's zoning ordinance as it is currently written could not be legally applied to exclude the Church's location in the South Village Plaza. Accordingly, the parties have agreed to settle the matter rather than continuing to incur the expense of continuing the dispute."

According to a statement released by the Becket Fund, when Bailey applied for a permit to occupy the space, city officials told him that religious meetings and worship were not permitted at that location under city zoning laws. But, the statement said, the city's zoning ordinance did allow such facilities as private clubs, fraternal organizations, lodge halls, funeral homes, theaters, assembly halls and "similar places of public assembly" to reside at the mall.

"It is irrational to distinguish between a church and a Masonic lodge," Hasson said.

McKeague expressed similar concerns while hearing arguments in the case.

"This case raises an interesting issue — principally whether the city acted to put a church in one zone and not another," he said, as reported by The Detroit News . "I am having a lot of trouble distinguishing this church from other halls," he said.

Last spring, the Grand Haven City Council approved a resolution explaining why it did not want churches to be included in community business districts.

"There is a feeling the existence of a church in smaller retail zones ... may discourage retail activity in those districts," the resolution states.

But Bailey said he wanted his church to be housed in a location with a high traffic pattern. "We are trying to reach out to people who don't go to church," Bailey told The Grand Rapids Press. "Church is not being done the way it was 20 to 30 years ago."

Related

Zoning still constricts some houses of worship
Scattered cases may test constitutionality of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which exempts religious groups from most local zoning rules.  04.14.02