Redwood Christian Schools v. County of AlamedaRedwood Christian is a Christian, interdenominational, independent day school for boys and girls in grades K-12, which provides a fully accredited program of Christ-centered education and Christian fellowship and worship. For lack of a permanent facility, it has operated its junior/senior high school at a succession of leased properties, all owned by the San Lorenzo Unified School District in Alameda County, California. From 1980 to 1985, the junior/senior high school occupied a facility named Washington Manor, but the District terminated the lease, forcing Redwood Christian to leave behind substantial capital improvements. It moved to another leased facility, known as the Dayton School, but was once again ordered to vacate by the District, in 1997. Each time, Redwood Christian was faced with potential termination of its entire high school ministry. 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. Although the devastating impact of refusing to allow Redwood Christian's high school ministry to proceed on its own property was brought to their attention at every turn, both the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors refused to take account of this substantial burden on Redwood Christian's religious exercise. In denying the application, county officials also ignored the fact that the county itself had recognized - in writing - that there is no alternative location in Alameda County to build the school. The action left Redwood Christian no alternative but to file suit. The county also violated California law "by treating private religious schools on less than equal terms with public schools," the complaint charges. On January 11, 2002, attorneys for Alameda County filed an answer to the complaint in which they denied most of the charges. They did concede differential treatment: "Defendants admit . . . public schools are subject to different land use procedures than private schools and under certain circumstances can exempt themselves from certain requirements of a city's or county's zoning code." They also raise, as an "affirmative defense," an assertion that "the Religious Land User and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 is unconstitutional." On May 3, 2002, an amended complaint was filed with the court. On May 9, 2002, a motion for partial summary judgment and memorandum in support of the motion were filed with the court. The summary judgment motion asks Judge Samuel Conti to find that county and state laws that treat religious schools differently than public schools violate RLUIPA. The complaint, filed in federal court on November 16, 2001, charges Alameda County with "clear and purposeful deprivation of the Plaintiff's rights to freedom of religion, speech, and association, as well as their rights to due process and equal protection of the laws." It adds that "the land use and zoning laws and regulations" of the county "were applied . . . against religious assemblies and institutions in general and Redwood Christian in particular" in a way that violates the U.S. and California Constitutions and RLUIPA. On August 15, 2002, Judge Conti issued an order granting Redwood Christian's motion to file an amended complaint, and granted a motion by the county to dismiss charges against local officials in their individual capacities, although they remain named defendants in their official capacities. On August 16, 2002, the U.S. Department of Justice intervened in the case to defend the constitutionality of RLUIPA. DOJ's 23 page memorandum lays out the case for upholding RLUIPA as constitutional. In its reply to the DOJ memorandum, Alameda County backpedalled furiously, saying it "presented its argument against the constitutionality of RLUIPA only in an excess of caution," and asking that, "if possible, the Court rule on plaintiff's motion without the need for addressing the constitutionality of RLUIPA." A hearing on Redwood Christian's motion for partial summary judgment originally scheduled for Friday, September 27, 2002 was cancelled by Judge Conti so that the court could certify the constitutional challenge to the state attorney general and allow the state 30 days to respond. On January 14, 2003, Judge Conti issued a 14 page order denying RCS's motion for partial summary judgment, ruling that public and private schools "do not create the same land use impacts." He noted that while it was true that public schools did not have to go through the same procedural requirements as a private religious school, it had its own hurdles to clear, and added, "the Court simply cannot determine, upon a facial review of the respective regulatory schemes, which process is more exacting. Plaintiffs might be able to show that in practice the discretionary nature of the CUP process created unfairness, but such a showing would require review of the facts of the case, and cannot be made on a purely legal motion." (Redwood Christian Schools v. County of Alameda, et al., C01-4282 MEJ ADR, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California) On June 16, 2006, Redwood Christian Schools filed its motion for partial summary judgment on their claims of "unbridled discretion" under the Free Speech Clause, and "substantial burden" under RLUIPA, as well as for damages based on those claims. On July 7, Redwood filed its reply brief in support of that motion. Meanwhile, Alameda County has filed its own motion for partial summary judgment, and on June 30, Redwood filed its brief in opposition to the County's motion. These two cross-motions are currently set for hearing on August 25, 2006. Resources & DocumentsArticles & News Items- "Redwood Christian Schools file federal lawsuit against Alameda County," November 16, 2001
- "U.S. Department of Justice intervenes in Redwood Christian case," August 16, 2002
- "Expert: Alameda County, CA Facing More Than $30 Million in Damages," March 29, 2006
- "California Christian Schools to Proceed with Lawsuit Against County," August 30, 2006
- "Redwood Christian Trial Begins," February 13, 2007
- "Jury to Decide Fate of Redwood Christian Schools," February 27, 2007
- "Justice Delayed for Redwood Christian Schools," March 2, 2007
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