No RLUIPA Violations In Processing Use Permit Applications By Mosque

In Islamic Cultural Center of Monticello, Inc. v. Village of Monticello, (NY Sup. Ct., Nov. 17, 2010), a New York trial court found no RLUIPA violations in a village's handling of applications for a special use permit and a certificate of occupancy for a mosque and related parking lot. The court noted: "the mosque has been allowed to operate in the building for years without a special use permit or approved parking while the required municipal approval was being processed; and the parking lot across the street has also been used and continues to be used illegally..... [T]here certainly in not evidence of religious discrimination; rather, the record speaks to a community and local government endeavoring to accommodate the need for a house of worship for the local Islamic community."