[Plaintiff] simply alleges that the Zoning Ordinance prevents it from practicing its religion in the precise location where it wants to. But, worthy of emphasis here, a church has no “constitutional right to build its house of worship where it pleases.”The court's dismissal of plaintiff's equal protection and RLUIPA equal terms claims were without prejudice. Plaintiff's 1st Amendment and other RLUIPA claims were dismissed with prejudice.
Thursday, February 06, 2014
Church's Challenge To Rezoning Denial Dismissed
In Alger Bible Baptist Church v. Township of Moffatt, (ED MI, Feb. 5, 2014), a Michigan federal district court dismissed a church's constitutional and RLUIPA challenges to a township's refusal to rezone land in a commercial district in which churches are not a permitted use. The court said:
