Second Lawsuit Against Georgia County Filed Over Zoning Denial For Churches

For the second time this year (see prior posting), a federal lawsuit has been filed against Coweta County, Georgia challenging its denial of a conditional use permit to a predominately African-American church. At issue in the latest suit is the county's refusal to allow Holy Is The Way Ministries to build a church on a rural tract of land it has contracted to purchase. The county Board of Commissioners denied the church's application, rejecting a recommendation of the Board of Zoning Appeals.  The complaint (full text) in Holiness Is The Way Ministries, Inc. v. Coweta County, Georgia, (ND GA, filed 4/13/2011), alleges violations of RLUIPA as well as numerous constitutional violations. Among other claims, plaintiffs charge that the provision in the county's zoning ordinance that calls for churches and other places of worship to obtain a conditional use permit to locate in areas zoned Rural Conservation is unconstitutional.  The complaint alleges that since this requires the county to analyze the content of speech and other expressive activity in order to determine whether a gathering is "a Church or other place of worship," this violates the 1st Amendment's protection of freedom of expression as well as the Establishment Clause. Alliance Defense Fund issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.