PHOENIX - Cities cannot impose zoning requirements on churches and other religious organizations that do not apply to others, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
In a unanimous decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overruled a decision by the city of Yuma to deny a permit for a church in the downtown area.
City officials were worried the presence of the church in an old department store would undermine redevelopment plans because state law precludes the sale of alcohol within 300 feet of any house of worship.
The decision has the potential to affect land-use ordinances throughout Arizona if they single out churches for special treatment.
The case involves a request by Centro Familiar Cristiano Buenas Nuevas to get a conditional use permit to operate a church on Main Street. City officials argued that allowing the church there would impair efforts by the city and private groups to revitalize the three-block downtown historic district with retail stores, restaurants and entertainment.
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Church officials, represented by the Center for Arizona Policy, sued, contending the city's action violated the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which restricts the ability of governments to discriminate against churches and other houses of worship.
U.S. District Judge Neil Wake disagreed, saying the denial was based not on religious issues but rather on the "land use impacts and the consequences to the redevelopment area."
But appellate Judge Andrew Kleinfeld said the key is the federal law precludes a government from imposing any land-use restriction on a religious assembly on "less than equal terms" with a similar non-religious organization.
In this case, Kleinfeld said, the "religious organizations" are required under the Yuma city code to get a conditional-use permit to locate in the old town district. But he said "numerous other uses" are automatically allowed.
While city officials cited the conflict between churches and the need for businesses that require liquor licenses in an entertainment zone, the judge noted the city allowed numerous other uses that are equally inconsistent with "lively" entertainment, such as "correction centers" and multi-family housing.
State lawmakers, confronted with the Yuma church's problems last year, agreed to enact their own version of the federal anti-discrimination law, restricting the ability of cities to use zoning laws to keep out churches. But in a nod to redevelopment interests, the new law allows cities to overrule the normal 300-foot restrictions between churches and places that serve alcohol, a move that permits bars and restaurants to be located near the churches.
That exception, however, applies only in a designated "entertainment district." Cities of at least 500,000 people can have up to three such districts. Those from 200,000 to 500,000 can have two, with smaller towns permitted only one.
None of this, however, will help this specific church: According to court records, the church no longer owns the old J.C. Penney building where it wanted to locate, having lost it in foreclosure.
