In
Tree of Life Christian Schools v. City of Upper Arlington, (SD OH, Oct. 13, 2017), an Ohio federal district court held that Upper Arlington, Ohio's zoning law as applied to a Christian school did not violate the equal terms provision of RLUIPA. In the case which has been in the courts for more than six years, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals had instructed the district court to determine:
Are there nonreligious assemblies or institutions to which the court should compare Tree of Life Christian Schools because they would fail to maximize income-tax revenue, and if so, would those assemblies or institutions be treated equally to TOL Christian Schools?
The district court concluded:
Plaintiff’s proposed use of the Property as a school is not consistent with the regulatory purpose of the ORC Office and Research District–to maximize income, whereas permitted uses such as banks, hotels/motels, and hospitals do serve that purpose. Plaintiff, a religious school, is treated the same as every other nonreligious assembly or institution, such as secular schools, that do not maximize tax revenue as they are all prohibited from the ORC Office and Research District. Therefore, regardless of what test is applied, there is no nonreligious assembly or institution similarly situated that is being treated better than Plaintiff.
