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New CT Zoning Laws Look to Increase Housing Diversity and Affordability

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

Executive Order to Address Zoning Barriers to Re-opening Restaurants and Retail

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

COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts on Land Use and Zoning

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

Baltimore County’s Zoning Code Found to Violate RLUIPA’s Equal Terms Provision

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

RLUIPA Does Not Apply to Uninsured Amish Roofer Repairing Homeowner’s Damaged Roof

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

Fair Housing Act Meets RLUIPA in Georgia

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

Church Ministering to Homeless/Needy Can Proceed with Most of its Religious Discrimination Claims

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

New Jersey Islamic Group’s Religious Discrimination Claims May Proceed, Rules Federal Court

This week, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) reported on the case of Garden State Islamic Center v. City of Vineland. ...more

Clifton, NJ Pays $2.5 Million to Settle RLUIPA Dispute

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

Coconut Creek, Florida Amends Zoning Code Following DOJ’s RLUIPA Investigation

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

Court Denies Summary Judgment in “Integral Yoga” RLUIPA Dispute in Hawaii

Back in 2015, we first reported about a RLUIPA case pitting the County of Maui, Hawaii against practitioners of “Integral Yoga”....more

Yee Haw! Cowboy Church’s Religious Rodeo Clears Some Hurdles

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

Satanists Sue Scottsdale, AZ Over Legislative Prayer Policy

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

Mahwah, NJ Agrees to Settle Eruv Dispute

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

Allenhurst, NJ Sued Under RLUIPA One Day and Settles the Next

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

City of Bayonne, NJ to Pay $400,000 to Settle Claims Over Mosque Denial

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

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