RLUIPA Violation – Zoning Codes

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: The Church of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

Case No.: 18-1432

Officials: FLAUM, EASTERBROOK, and BRENNAN, Circuit Judges.

Focus: RLUIPA Violation – Zoning Codes

In the City of Markham, Illinois, 16018 South Spaulding Avenue (the “Property”) is home to The Church of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We use the word “home” literally and figuratively: the church converted a single-family residence on the Property into its house of worship. The Property’s location in a residential area, and the church’s ensuing zoning battles with the city, give rise to this lawsuit.

The parties dispute what the city knew about the church’s use of the Property, and when, but such issues are largely irrelevant at this juncture. What matters (and is undisputed) is that the city sought an injunction in state court to halt the church’s operation on the Property without a conditional use permit, prompting the church to file an application for such a permit, which the city denied. All that occurred before this case began.

Denied a conditional use permit and facing a possible court order enjoining its operation, the church brought this lawsuit challenging the city’s zoning code under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc et seq. (“RLUIPA”), and the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 775 ILL. COMP. STAT. 35/1 et seq. The church contends the city’s zoning code treats religious uses of property on unequal terms with analogous secular uses and unreasonably limits where religious organizations may locate in the city. The church also alleges the city’s insistence on a conditional use permit has imposed a substantial burden on its religious exercise. The district court granted the city summary judgment, ruling the church’s claims were not ripe when filed and rendered moot.

We reverse. The district court focused on the church not applying for parking variances before the lawsuit. But that issue is related only tangentially to the church’s claims, which concern zoning use classifications, not parking. The ripeness of the church’s claims does not hinge on pursuit of parking variances that will not resolve them. Nor can a conditional use permit from the city moot the church’s claim that such a permit is not needed. The key question in this case is whether operating a church on the Property is a permitted or conditional use. The district court did not answer that question, but it is the necessary starting point for resolving the church’s legal claims.

Reversed and Remanded

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.