In a pivotal move for religious freedom, the U.S. Justice Department stepped firmly into the fray of a zoning dispute involving a small Christian church in Santa Ana. A statement of interest was filed in the case Anchor Stone Christian Church v. City of Santa Ana, siding with the church’s claim that their rights were encroached upon under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), according to information on the Justice Department’s website. The suit alleges that Santa Ana's zoning code unfairly puts a burden on religious organizations by necessitating a conditional use permit (CUP) for houses of worship while permitting secular assemblies like museums and art galleries without such hurdles.
Representing the federal government’s stance, Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally was quoted stating, "Zoning practices that unfairly limit assemblies by faith-based groups violate federal law." Despite needing a CUP to operate, secular institutions, like the church’s space in the city’s professional district, stand on a different, seemingly privileged ground. "Municipalities cannot create zoning districts that treat houses of worship worse than comparable secular assemblies," McNally's statement continued, signaling a vigorous defense by the Justice Department in favor of equality under the law for all assemblies, including religious ones.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mac Warner supported this point by noting the responsibility of local governments to ensure religious assemblies are not treated with less favor compared to their nonreligious counterparts. "RLUIPA prohibits local governments from treating religious assembly uses like the Anchor Stone Church worse than comparable nonreligious assemblies," Warner insisted. Justice Department efforts aim to uphold the stature of RLUIPA's protections and guarantee religious groups can gather for worship on equal grounds with secular assemblies.
The statement of interest from the Department echoes the church’s concerns, with allegations of first-generation Chinese and Taiwanese Americans being rendered unequal in their quest to gather for worship. The church had obtained space within the city's professional district, only to find their application for a CUP denied by the city. Among their struggles, placed in an unequal fight, was their move for a preliminary injunction, as reported on the Justice Department’s website, which seeks an order to allow worship on their property.
Under RLUIPA, the Justice Department remains clear in its mission to safeguard religious institutions against discriminatory land use regulations. To this end, an outreach initiative, as well as a letter to state and municipal leaders, has been disseminated to remind them of these obligations. In the process of enforcing this federal law, the department hosted a forum with land use practitioners and religious leaders at Fowler School of Law at Chapman University in Orange County, California.
Victims of discrimination in zoning or land use are encouraged to contact the U.S. Attorney's Office Civil Division or the Civil Rights Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section, with additional resources available on the Place to Worship Initiative’s webpage. Public Information Officer Ciaran McEvoy can be reached for further information regarding these efforts to ensure religious institutions can secure their place within the societal fabric without facing unequal treatment based on their belief systems.
