On The Front Lines
Institute Fights Zoning Board to Defend Church Rights!
Rutherford Institute Attorneys Defend Massachusetts Church's Outreach/Expansion Efforts Under RLUIPA, 1st & 14th AmendmentsAttorneys for The Rutherford Institute have filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on behalf of a church whose expansion efforts have been thwarted by local zoning ordinances and historic commission restrictions. The suit charges that the town of Hamilton, Mass., its Zoning Board of Appeals and its Historic District Commission violated the church's rights under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, as well as the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
In 1989, First Congregational Church of Hamilton, in Hamilton, Mass., embarked on plans to meet the needs of a growing congregation and an expanding ministry through the acquisition of adjacent property, alterations to existing buildings and expanded parking facilities. Over the next few years the church encountered numerous obstacles that forced it to reduce its plan for a new parking lot, as well as restrict security lighting in the parking lot to certain prescribed time periods. Similarly, the church has been forced to reduce the size of its "Fellowship Hall Project," which includes the construction of an education building and a fellowship hall, as well as additional sidewalks, in response to Historic District Commission concerns. While the commission rejected the church's proposed amended plan, it has refused to recommend specific revisions that would make the plan acceptable. Church officials insist that the building and facilities are insufficient to meet the church's needs. For example, from time to time, certain Sunday school classes have not had classroom space to meet. The church also lacks an adequate room to accommodate its congregation for such traditional congregational activities as church suppers, youth group activities and congregational meetings--social activities that the church insists are essential to the tenets of its faith and furtherance of its religious mission. Furthermore, much of the space does not meet present-day standards established by safety, building and health code regulations.
In filing suit against the town, its Zoning Board of Appeals and its Historic District Commission, Rutherford Institute attorneys assert that their denial of approval for the Fellowship Hall Project violates the First Congregational Church of Hamilton's rights under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, as well as its rights to free exercise of religion and equal protection under the law under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
"The preservation of historic architecture is important, but so is the guarantee of religious freedom secured by our nation's founders," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "We share the belief of First Congregational Church of Hamilton that, in this matter, both interests can be protected."
The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
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