4 -CUP19-01; ME19-01_4405 W EDINGER

Home Browse Search

of use, hours of operation, noise, and similar objective criteria in regulating land uses, rather than focusing on the content of the speech and assembly activities being regulated. 13. What constitutes discrimination based on religion or religious denomination under RLUIPA? Section 2(b)(2) of RLUIPA bars implementation of a land use regulation that discriminates on the basis of religion or religious denomination. This bar applies to application of land use regulations that facially discriminate, as well as applications of land use regulation that are facially neutral but which in fact discriminate based on religion or religious denomination. Thus if a zoning permit is denied because town officials do not like members of a particular religious group, or if for any other reason an applicant is denied a zoning permit that would have been given to it had it been part of a different religion or religious denomination, Section 2(b)(2) has been violated. Because this section applies to discrimination based on either religion or religious denomination, it can apply to situations where a city may not be discriminating against all members of a religion, but merely a particular sub-group or sect. 14. What does it mean for a local government to totally exclude religious uses from a jurisdiction? Section 2(b)(3)(A) prohibits local governments from “totally exclud[ing] religious assemblies from a jurisdiction.” If a city, town or county had no location where religious uses are permitted, that would be a facial violation of Section 2(b)(3). 15. What does it mean for a local government to impose unreasonable limitations on a religious assembly, institution, or structure? Section 2(b)(3)(B) prohibits land use regulations that “unreasonably limit[ ]” religious assemblies, institutions, or structures within a jurisdiction. This provision is violated if a municipality’s land use laws, or their application, deprive religious institutions and assemblies of reasonable opportunities to use and construct structures within that jurisdiction. A determination of reasonableness depends on a review of all of the facts in a particular jurisdiction, including the availability of land and the economics of religious organizations. Courts have found unreasonable limitations where regulations effectively left few sites for construction of houses of worship, such as through excessive frontage and spacing requirements, or have imposed steep and questionable expenses on applicants. 16. When must someone file suit under RLUIPA? RLUIPA lawsuits brought by private plaintiffs must be filed in state or federal court within four years of the alleged RLUIPA violation. 4-78