Denial of Variance For Church Sign Upheld Under RLUIPA

In Trinity Assembly of God of Baltimore City, Inc. v. People's Counsel, (MD Ct. Spec. App., Feb. 6, 2008), a Maryland appellate court upheld Baltimore City's denial of a zoning variance for a large sign that a church proposed to erect near an expressway. The center part of the sign would carry electronically changeable messages. Rejecting the church's RLUIPA challenge to the zoning denial, the court said:

[T]he Church has not been denied any use of a sign as a means of evangelism, but only the non-conforming use of a sign that cannot be as large and eye-catching as the Church might desire. Denial of its variance request burdens the Church’s religious exercise, but not substantially, so as to make any use of a sign for uplift and recruitment "effectively impracticable" or to compel the congregants to "violate [their religious] beliefs.” The Board properly interpreted the “substantial burden” standard in RLUIPA; and, on the record before it, did not err in concluding that the Church did not meet that standard.

Reporting on the decision, yesterday's Baltimore Sun said that opponents of the sign were concerned about visual clutter and distraction of motorists. [Thanks to Alliance Alert for the lead.]