California city accused of discrimination against church in zoning application

California city accused of discrimination against church in zoning application

The city of San Leandro, California, has been sued in federal court for refusing to allow a church to use a building it purchased.

The lawsuit was filed by the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) on behalf of the Faith Fellowship Foursquare Church, a church that has grown from 65 attendees to 1,700 in 13 years and had outgrown its current location. To accommodate that growth, church leaders bought an empty building in an industrial area, but were told by the city the property could not be rezoned for church use.

PJI president Brad Dacus says the church must stand for its rights. "That is outrageous," he says. "It is a clear violation of the RLUIPA statute." The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act is a federal law that mandates equal treatment of religious and nonreligious groups in land-use decisions.

Dacus claims city leaders have refused to negotiate with church leaders, prompting the lawsuit -- which the attorney explains was filed to get the city's attention.

"They're a wonderful church -- and yet ... the city of San Leandro is so dead-set against this church and against churches with this message apparently that they don't even want to negotiate," he says. "They don't want to look at alternatives, they don't want to look at options. They're just committed to keeping out this church, and I imagine churches just like this church."

Dacus says his legal firm intends to make the Faith Fellowship Foursquare Church case a model "for other cities to learn from and understand the importance of respecting churches and their rights to build, grow, and expand in the United States of America."