New information added on January 12, 2009

Email Us “Empire State Development Corporation Condemns Church to Transfer Property to Seneca Indians” - PRFA News Brief, February 2006 A non-denominational religious ministry has filed suit to stop their two-story house in Niagara Falls from being condemned by the Empire State Development Corp. for the Seneca Gaming Corp. “Case Law Accumulates Implementing the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act” - PRFA News Brief, March 2005 Churches and synagogues are bucking zoning and eminent domain by using the new federal law known as RLUIPA to defend their right to build edifices for worship and religious education and to practice their religion in various locations. “Should Synagogues That Do Not Allow Driving on the Sabbath be Required to Provide Parking?” - March 2004 Houses of worship are prospering in Flushing, but residents complain about the parking problem. A proposed New York City zoning rule would require all places of worship to provide parking in line with their largest meeting hall, but Orthodox Jews do not drive on the Sabbath. January 2001: “Church in Land Between the Lakes Recreational Area Restored as Memorial to Sanctuaries Demolished by National Park Service.” See Also

In-Depth Information “The Rights of Religious Institutions Facing Zoning and Historic Preservation” - By Roman P. Storzer, Storzer & Greene, P.L.L.C. Washington, D.C.; Twelfth Annual National Conference on Private Property Rights (PRFA, Albany, N.Y., October 18, 2008) In no other area is there as much restriction on religious exercise, a First Amendment freedom, than in the land use context, with possibly the exception of prisoners. The federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, RLUIPA, targets landmarking and land use laws. Zoning boards no longer hold all the power. Churches, mosques and temples can go to court and get redress under a relatively strong standard of review. “Maui Church Settles Zoning Dispute” - By Carol W. LaGrasse (PRFA, December 2004) The U.S. Justice Department had joined the Hale O Kaula church case in Wailuku, Maui, to enforce the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. The settlement left the law unsettled. Maui County paid $700,000 to the church, but restricted the building, congregation size, and hours of operation. “Government, the New Leviathan” - By James Bovard, Author, Public Policy Analyst, from Proceedings of the Second Annual N.Y. Conference on Private Property Rights (Property Rights Foundation of America, Oct. 19, 1996) Classical churches are becoming victims of historic preservation. St. Bartholomew’s Church on Park Avenue, New York City, was blocked by the City Landmarks Commission from selling its community house to build an office hi-rise, which would have enabled the church to fund its charitable activities.

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