Virginia County Settles With Justice Department On Claimed RLUIPA Violations

Henrico County, Virgina in 2008 refused to rezone 5.2 acres of undeveloped land that had been purchased by a Muslim group seeking to construct a mosque and community center. The group challenged the rezoning refusal by filing a suit in state court.  Subsequently, the U.S. Department of Justice also began to investigate the matter, and yesterday the Justice Department announced that it had reached an agreement with the county on a consent decree.  A complaint (full text) charging violations of both the anti-discrimination and the undue burden provisions of RLUIPA was filed by the government yesterday in a Virginia federal district court, along with a proposed consent order (full text).  The complaint charges that the rezoning refusal was motivated by hostility to the mosque and its members on the basis of religion. Under the consent order, if approved by the court, the county will permit the mosque to be constructed, will agree to comply with RLUIPA in the future, will provide future religious use applicants notice of their rights under RLUIPA, will provide training on RLUIPA to various county officials, and will implement various reporting, record keeping and monitoring requirements. [Thanks to Eric Treene for the lead.]