Appeals Court Denies City's Petition to Re-Examine Church Lawsuit

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied on Friday the City of San Leandro’s in the case filed against it by . The decision paves the way for a trial.

Alternatively, the city could take the case to the Supreme Court. 

At issue is whether or not the city violated a federal law designed to protect religious institutions from overly burdensome land use regulations.

Faith Fellowship, which has more than 2,000 members, filed suit against the city in July 2007 over the city's denial of permission to open a new church in an industrial zone. The church is currently located in a residential neighborhood on Manor Boulevard.

A federal district court judge originally granted the city summary judgment in the case. However, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in February, ordering the case to trial.

The city then petitioned the appeals court to reconsider its decision, which it denied on Friday.

The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, or RLUIPA, which was passed by Congress in 2000, prohibits governments from imposing or implementing overly burdensome land use regulations unless there’s a “compelling governmental interest” for the regulation, and it’s the “least restrictive means” of furthering that interest.

The appeals court stated in its ruling delivered on Friday: “We find that there is a triable issue of material fact regarding whether the City imposed a substantial burden on the Church’s religious exercise under RLUIPA.” 

The appeals court also ruled that the city “failed as a matter of law to prove a compelling interest for its actions.”

The court did not rule on whether the city violated the church’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, which the church also alleged. Nor did the court rule on whether the city violated a separate provision of RLUIPA, the Equal Terms provision, which 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.”

Jayne Williams, attorney for the City of San Leandro, said she would be discussing the matter with City Council to determine the next step. The city has 90 days to decide whether to file a petition with the Supreme Court.

Williams said the lawsuit has cost the city around $450,000 to date. 

The ruling is attached at right.