Apartments Not Covered By Historic Preservation Exemption For Religious Property

In Or Khaim Hashalom v. City of Santa Monica, (CA App., Nov. 22, 2010), a California appellate court held that an apartment complex did not qualify for the exemption from historic preservation designation granted by state law to non-commercial property owned by a religious organization.  OKH, which incorporated as a religious organization several months after acquiring the building (and after landmark designation proceedings had begun) had applied to demolish it and use the land for housing for Jewish refugees from Iran and Iraq.  The court concluded that the property has always been a commercial enterprise and so is not covered by the exemption. The court said that the exemption is limited to property used for a religious institution's mission before the religious institution seeks to invoke the exemption.