City Was Premature In Acting Against Church's Feared Homeless Encampment

In New Life Evangelistic Center v. City of St. Louis, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 120783 (ED MO, Aug. 26, 2013), a Missouri federal district court refused to dismiss a lawsuit by a church that claimed its due process and free exercise rights were infringed when the city issued an emergency condemnation order against its property on which it had erected a large tent and eight smaller tents.  The city feared that the church intended to created a sleeping encampment for the homeless on the property. The church claimed, however, that it intended to use the property for worship and outreach to the homeless.  Dismissing the city's counterclaim for injunctive and declaratory relief, the court concluded that no permits were required for the present uses of the property, and that the city was premature in acting merely on speculation that a tent city in violation of the building code would be set up.