Church Files RLUIPA and Constitutional Challenges To Zoning Delays

Earlier this month, a lawsuit was filed against the Town of Colonie, New York, its Planning Board and officials claiming that the town's refusal to give a church various zoning approvals for a new facility violated RLUIPA, the 1st and 14th Amendments and New York state constitutional provisions.  The complaint (full text) in Life Covenant Church, Inc. v. Town of Colonie, (ND NY, filed 12/17, 2014), alleges:

LifeChurch’s zoning requests have been lost in a bureaucratic maze as the Town and Town Officials have routinely made conflicting requests and continued to unnecessarily delay in requesting and reviewing materials prior to the Planning Board’s consideration of LifeChurch’s zoning requests.

RLUIPA Defense blog has additional details.