Miami Dade County Changes Church Zoning Rules After Lawsuit Filed

Florida Baptist Witness reported yesterday that Miami Dade County Commissioners voted last month to change the county's zoning requirements for churches. As churches increasingly meet in warehouses and storefronts, they could not comply with requirements that churches be located on at least 2.5 acres of land. The change was made after a storefront church, International Outreach Center, and another small church that meets in a home, filed constitutional, RLUIPA and state law challenges to the acreage requirement. Churches are seeking further changes to parking and frontage requirements for churches that are still in the zoning laws. They say frontage distances should be the same for churches as for businesses, and that storefront churches should be able to "borrow" from surrounding businesses that are closed on Sundays to meet parking requirements.