6th Circuit Refuses Modification of 16 Year Old Church Zoning Consent Decree

In Northridge Church v. Charter Township of Plymouth, (6th Cir., July 28, 2011), the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to set aside or modify a consent judgment that had been entered 16 years earlier in a case involving an attempt by a large congregation to obtain zoning approval for construction of a church building and related recreational facilities. Among the restrictions set out in the consent decree were limitation of the church's total auditorium seating to no more than 3,500 and no more than 1,167 parking spaces. At the time of the consent decree, average Sunday church attendance was 1,100. It has now grown to 14,000-- requiring multiple weekly services and costly shuttle buses. The court rejected the church's argument that the enactment of RLUIPA 5 years after the entry of the consent decree voided the judgment. The court also concluded that RLUIPA did not create sufficient changed legal circumstances to justify a modification of the decree since at the time of the decree RFRA was in effect and had not yet been invalidated in its application to states. Finally the court concluded that there had not been a sufficient change in factual circumstances to find that the district court had abused its discretion in refusing to modify the consent judgment. [Thanks to Brian D. Wassom for the lead.]