Indiana Church's Zoning Challenge Rejected

In Digrugilliers v. Consolodated City of Indianapolis, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11485 (SD IN, Feb. 15, 2007), and Indiana federal district court denied a preliminary injunction to a Baptist Church that was cited by the city for being in violation of zoning ordinances. The court rejected plaintiff's argument that requiring the Church to apply for a zoning variance unduly burdens its religious practice under the First Amendment and RLUIPA. The court found no basis to conclude that nonreligious land uses are treated more favorably than religious uses in seeking or receiving a variance. It said that religious land uses implicate land use concerns not posed by permitted uses such as community centers and auditoriums, including limiting the commercial viability of surrounding land because businesses such as liquor stores and adult bookstores cannot locate nearby. The court also rejected claims that the zoning ordinance infringed the Church's free expression rights, finding among other things that the ordinance is not a content-based restriction on speech. Finally it rejected claims under the Equal Protection clause and RLUIPA's anti-discrimination provisions.