Court Says Historic Preservation Laws Invalidate Permit For Church Parking Lot

In Topeka, Kansas yesterday, a Shawnee County district judge ruled that Topeka City Council violated state historic preservation laws when it approved an application by Grace Episcopal Cathedral to build a parking lot on a site listed on the Register of Historic Kansas Places. Today's Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the ruling comes in a challenge to the city's action filed by Friends of Bethany Place who argued that historic preservation laws apply to trees on the property as well as buildings. (See prior posting.) The church insists that denying it permission to build violates its free exercise rights.