7th Circuit En Banc Interprets Equal Terms Provision of RLUIPA

In River of Life Kingdom Ministries v. Village of Hazel Crest, Illinois, (7th Cir en banc, July 2, 2010), the 7th Circuit in an en banc decision interpreted the equal terms provision of RLUIPA by creating a modified version of the test used by the 3rd Circuit. The 7th Circuit's test treats a regulation as violating the Equal Terms provision "only if it treats religious assemblies or institutions less well than secular assemblies or institutions that are similarly situated as to the regulatory criteria." The 3rd Circuit's test uses "purposes" instead of "criteria" to decide whether there has been discrimination. The court rejected the broader 11th Circuit test for discrimination under RLUIPA. Applying its new test, the en banc court, as did the 3-judge panel, refused to grant a preliminary injunction to permit a church to relocate from a crowded warehouse to property it purchased in an area near a train station zoned for various commercial uses, but not for religious services. Judge Sykes dissented, suggesting an approach that builds on the 11th Circuit's approach.