Zoning laws are changing in Connecticut. The goal? To make housing more affordable and accessible for everyone. -
Nearly a century ago, the Connecticut Legislature adopted the “Standard Zoning Enabling Act” (now Chapter...more
6/14/2021
/ Affordable Housing ,
Construction Project ,
Housing Market ,
Mandated Diversity Requirements ,
Multi-Family Development ,
Municipalities ,
New Legislation ,
Real Estate Development ,
State and Local Government ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zoning Maps
Just as quickly as we wrote COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts on Land Use and Zoning, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont issued Executive Order No. 7MM (the Order) to provide municipalities and land users some clarity regarding outdoor...more
As we are all too aware, on March 10, 2020, Governor Ned Lamont issued declarations of public health and civil preparedness emergencies, proclaiming a state of emergency throughout the State of Connecticut as a result of the...more
5/14/2020
/ Construction Project ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Infrastructure ,
Land Use Restrictions ,
Municipalities ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Real Estate Development ,
Social Distancing ,
State and Local Government ,
Tolling ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zoning Laws
RLUIPA’s equal terms provision requires municipalities to treat religious uses no worse than analogous secular assembly uses. Generally, if a municipality wants to either prohibit religious uses from a certain zone or...more
A federal court in New York issued an important decision that should serve as a reminder about the reach of RLUIPA. The case involves a homeowner’s request to have an Amish roofer repair her damaged roof. In April 2018,...more
Late last month, an addiction ministry known as Vision Warriors Church, Inc. sued the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners under the Fair Housing Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, RLUIPA, and the U.S. Constitution. ...more
A United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee recently ruled that Layman Lessons Church and Welcome Baptist Church, Inc. (“Layman Lessons”) can move forward with most, but not all, of its religious...more
4/29/2019
/ Equal Protection ,
First Amendment ,
Free Exercise Clause ,
Homeless Issues ,
Mootness ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Religious Institutions ,
RLUIPA ,
State and Local Government ,
Substantial Burden
This week, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) reported on the case of Garden State Islamic Center v. City of Vineland. ...more
Clifton, New Jersey has agreed to pay a Jewish congregation $2.5 million and will allow it to construct a synagogue. Congregation Shomrei Torah/Tiferes Boruch asked for permission to build a synagogue 11 years ago. The...more
Recently, the Department of Justice reported that it has closed its investigation into whether the City of Coconut Creek’s zoning code violated RLUIPA’s equal terms provision by treating secular assembly uses better than...more
Back in 2015, we first reported about a RLUIPA case pitting the County of Maui, Hawaii against practitioners of “Integral Yoga”....more
Texas’ appellate court recently issued a decision involving the interplay between religious freedom and governmental police power, a “cowboy church,” and NIMBYism (Not-In-My-Back-Yard). True to its name, Denton County Cowboy...more
The Satanic Temple and one of its members, Michelle Shortt, are suing the city of Scottsdale, Arizona and individual municipal officials in federal court, alleging that a Satanist was denied the opportunity to open a City...more
In December, we reported that the Mahwah Township Council (“Council”) voted to withdraw two ordinances at the center of RLUIPA litigation involving the expansion of an eruv proposed by Bergen Rockland Eruv Association...more
The Borough of Allenhurst, New Jersey has settled a lawsuit against an Orthodox Jewish group just one day after the group filed suit in federal court alleging violations of RLUIPA’s unreasonable limits and exclusions and...more
The City of Bayonne, New Jersey has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed this past summer by Bayonne Muslims, asserting that the city discriminated against the Muslim group after denying variances needed to convert an abandoned...more