FLUIPA

[Gregory Matthews]

The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) is a federal statute that was passed in 2000 to provide stronger protection for religious freedom in the land-use and prison contexts. This statute was passed by Congress due to growing concern over issues of prisoner religious rights and the rights of religious organizations to purchase property which they could use in their religious pursuits.

Since the passage of the statute, governmental agencies have often initiated litigation to either restrict the rights of religious organizations under the statute or to have the statute declared unconstitutional. A review of the attempt of this nature by Boulder County, located in Colorado, may be informative for those who follow Religious Rights. One of the informative aspects of this specific case is that the price of freedom is high. At the present level of the case, the church has run up legal bills of well over one million dollars. Boulder County has run up similar bills which have been largely paid by its insurance carrier. Even with these bills, the case is not over yet, if the County wishes to appeal.

In 2004, the Rocky Mountain Christian Church (RMCC) filed an application with Boulder County to expand their 106,000 square foot campus by adding an additional 132,000 square feet to their buildings. Boulder County refused to allow the congregation to make this expansion. So the congregation filed a lawsuit under the provisions of the RLUIPA in 2006, in Federal Court.

The District Court gave a mixed verdict. It ruled for the County of Boulder in that it rejected the claim of the church that the County had violated the congregations Constitutional rights. But, it ruled for the church that the County had violated the statute. It found that the County had used adverse treatment in ruling on the application to increase the size. It treated the application under the rules for a new application instead of the rules for an existing use. It also found that the County Zoning Laws placed a substantial burden on the practice of religion, was unfairly applied to churches and placed unreasonable limits on religion. It then ordered the County to approve the application to increase the size of its campus.

The County filed in the Appellate Court in an attempt to have the FLUIPA declared unconstitutional and to otherwise overturn the decision against the County by the District Court.

On May 17, 2010, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the order of the District Court to grant the permit to expand.

The County has not decided whether or not to appeal. It has four options which include appeals to the Appellate Court and to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.

In the mean time, the Court has ordered the County to pay the congregation $1,340,000 in accrued expenses.

NOTE: I am indebted, in part, to articles published in the LONGMONT TIMES –CALL, and to John Fryer who wrote some of the articles. He may be reached at: jfryar@times-call.com or at 303-684-5211 for more information.