Victory for Great Lakes Society, Becket Fund in RLUIPA caseJul 24, 2007 The Circuit Court for Ottawa County Michigan ruled that Georgetown Charter Township illegally denied the Great Lakes Society (“GLS”) its right to build a house of worship for the chemically sensitive and disabled. The ruling, signed by Circuit Judge Calvin L. Bosman, found that the Township violated the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”) when it denied GLS’ permit application because the building proposal did not meet the Township’s arbitrary notions of what constitutes a church. GLS is represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a non-profit law firm that has developed a reputation as the nation’s premiere defenders of RLUIPA, and by Roman P. Storzer of the law firm Storzer & Greene, which specializes in the representation of religious institutions. GLS first applied for a special-use permit to build a house of worship on its land on April 17, 2002 and all initial signs pointed towards a smooth approval. GLS’ plans for the church included a sanctuary for group worship, prayer and meditation rooms, restrooms, a library, a garage, a health ministry and other features common to churches. But, on May 8 of that year, the Township unexpectedly informed GLS that “the proposal as submitted for this site is not, in fact, a church for purposes of the Georgetown Township Zoning Ordinance.” Judge Bosman saw that decision for what it was; a flat prohibition on group worship for GLS members, who, because of their chemical sensitivity, quite literally have nowhere else to go. According to the court, the Zoning Board’s action, “effectively prevents the members of GLS from worshipping at all. It would be difficult to conceive of a burden on religious exercise more substantial than this.” Members of GLS suffer from extreme sensitivity to chemicals found in standard building construction and in other aspects of modern life; when exposed to these chemicals, they can suffer from nausea, migraines, heart irregularities, respiratory difficulties, and other debilitating conditions. “RLUIPA was created precisely to deal with the national epidemic of zoning boards putting arbitrary decision making ahead of the rights of citizens to worship freely on their own land,” said Kevin J. Hasson, President of the Becket Fund. RLUIPA was passed with unanimous consent in Congress and signed into law by President Clinton in 2000. “The central question of this case was ‘Who decides what a church is -- believers or bureaucrats?’ This time the believers won, and so did the constitution.” This case only builds on the Michigan's unfortunate reputation as a hotbed of activity under RLUIPA's land-use provisions. The first victory under RLUIPA came by favorable settlement in the case of Haven Shores Community Church v. City of Grand Haven, brought by the Becket Fund. The Becket Fund is currently awaiting a decision from the Sixth Circuit in its representation of Okemos Christian Center in their RLUIPA case against Meridian Charter Township, MI. The Becket Fund is also representing Greater Bible Way Temple in their case against Jackson, MI and in their appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States of an adverse Michigan Supreme Court ruling. These decisions could create a split on important RLUIPA issues between state and federal appellate courts covering the same jurisdiction. Resources & DocumentsRelevant Cases
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