Religion News Service
SURFSIDE, FLORIDA, April 21, 2004: An appeals court has ruled that the town of Surfside, Fla., violated a religious land-use law when it excluded churches and synagogues from zoning areas where it permitted private clubs. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled April 21 that Surfside violated the equal-terms provision of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. It is very important for Hindu temples and institutions to follow any legal cases involving this law, which makes it difficult for local governments to use zoning regulations to prevent or restrict construction of religious facilities. There have been several attempts to challenge the constitutionality of the law.
The decision overturns a lower court ruling in a case involving two small Orthodox synagogues in Miami-Dade County. “Surfside improperly targeted religious assemblies and violated Free Exercise requirements of neutrality and general applicability,” the three-judge panel determined. “The purpose and operation of the ordinance reveal an impermissible attempt to target religious assemblies.” The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which filed an amicus brief in the case, said the ruling marked the first time an appellate court has ruled on the constitutionality of the land-use aspects of the 2000 law, known as RLUIPA.
The town and the synagogues disagreed about whether the congregations had the legal right to stay in the town’s business district. Surfside officials argued that the congregations “contribute little synergy” to retail shopping areas and would erode the town’s tax base. The synagogues had argued that the zoning ordinance violated RLUIPA, which includes a provision that states that “No government shall impose or implement a land use regulation in a manner that treats a religious assembly or institution on less than equal terms with a nonreligious assembly or institution.”