Redwood Christian Schools file federal lawsuit against Alameda CountyNov 16, 2001
Redwood Christian Schools, an interdenominational independent school in Castro Valley, California, today filed suit in U.S. District Court in Oakland against Alameda County, charging violations of the U.S. Constitution, the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act ("RLUIPA"), and California state law. The school system wants to build a permanent junior/senior high school on land it owns at 6400 East Castro Valley Boulevard, but Alameda County officials have refused to allow Redwood Christian to build anything on the property.
Since 1980, Redwood Christian Schools has operated its junior/senior high school at facilities leased from the San Lorenzo Unified School District, first at Washington Manor, then at Dayton School, and presently at the old Martin elementary school in San Lorenzo. Twice, the District forced Redwood Christian to move by terminating the leases at Washington Manor and Dayton, and it retains the right to do so on only six months' notice at Martin elementary as well. After the District reclaimed the Dayton facility in 1997, Redwood officials spent $3 million on the Castro Valley land and developed plans for building a new, permanent school there. It spent another $1 million to make the property suitable for development.
In November 2000, the Alameda Planning Commission voted to deny Redwood a conditional use permit (CUP) to build and operate a high school on the new property. Redwood Christian appealed the decision to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, which voted down the application for a CUP in October 2001. The action left Redwood Christian no alternative but to file suit.
The lawsuit filed today states that Alameda County has placed "a substantial burden" on Redwood Christian's religious exercise, expression and association, and "treats Redwood Christian on unequal terms in comparison with nonreligious public schools." It also charges the county with "an impermissible and uncompensated taking of private property for public use."
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty has brought a number of cases under RLUIPA since the act was signed into law in September 2000, and won the first case decided under the law, in Michigan. It subsequently won others in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and is currently litigating many others around the country. Relevant Cases
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