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requirements on local governments regarding zoning that impact religious uses by requiring that: • the zoning law or its application not substantially burden religious exercise without compelling justification pursued through the least restrictive means, • the zoning law not treat religious uses less favorably than nonreligious assemblies and institutions, • the law not discriminate based on religion or religious denomination, and • the jurisdiction not totally or unreasonably restrict religious uses. When there is a conflict between RLUIPA and the zoning code or how it is applied, RLUIPA, as a federal civil rights law, takes precedence and the zoning law must give way. So long as a municipality applies its codes uniformly and does not impose an unjustified substantial burden on religious exercise, it may apply traditional zoning concerns – such as regulations addressing traffic, hours of use, parking, maximum capacity, intensity of use, setbacks, frontage – to religious uses just as they are applied to any other land uses. 5. Are there occasions when a religious assembly or institution does not have to apply for zoning approval, and appeal any denial, before it has recourse to RLUIPA? As a practical matter, applying for a zoning permit, special use permit, conditional use permit, special exception, variance, rezoning, or other zoning procedure, and appealing within that system in case of denials, is often the fastest and most efficient way to obtain ultimate approval. Religious institutions and local governments are encouraged to attempt to resolve disputes through established zoning processes. In some circumstances courts have held that religious institutions need not make an application or appeal before filing a RLUIPA lawsuit. These include settings where further application or appeal would be futile under the circumstances, or there would be excessive delay, uncertainty or expense, or if the application requirements are discriminatory on their face. 6. RLUIPA applies to any “land use regulation.” What does that mean? RLUIPA defines land use regulation as a “zoning or landmarking law . . . that limits or restricts a claimant’s use or development of land.” Zoning law encompasses laws, ordinances or codes that determine what type of building or land use can be located in what areas and under what conditions. Landmark preservation laws are restrictions that municipalities place on specific buildings or sites to preserve those that are deemed significant for historical, architectural, or cultural reasons. RLUIPA’s definition of land use regulation, however, does not extend to every type of law involving land, such as fire 4-74