11th Circuit: Synagogue's Challenge To Historic Landmark Designation Is Ripe For Adjudication

In Temple B'nai Zion, Inc. v. City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, (11th Cir., Aug. 29, 2013), the U.S. 11th Circuit court of Appeals held that a suit by a synagogue challenging its designation as a historic landmark is ripe for adjudication. The court held that the synagogue's challenge of the designation as a violation of the state and federal constitutions, RLUIPA and the Florida Religious Freedom Restoration Act is sufficiently developed to obtain judicial resolution, even though the city has not yet applied any land use restrictions to the synagogue. The opinion describes at length the antagonism of the city's mayor, a former member of the synagogue, to the synagogue when it moved from embracing Conservative Judaism to becoming an Orthodox synagogue. The Miami Herald reports on the decision.