Yesterday a New York federal district court in United States v. Village of Airmont, (SD NY, March 15, 2021), entered a consent decree requiring modification of the village's zoning code. A press release by the Department of Justice describes the order:
[The preliminary injunction mandates] that the Village... immediately cease enforcement of zoning code provisions enacted in 2018 that discriminate against Orthodox Jewish residents in violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.... [T]he zoning code provisions at issue limit the amount of space in private homes that can be used as a Residential Place of Worship..., restrict whom residents are allowed to invite into their own homes to pray, and expand the use of an arbitrary, drawn-out application process designed to delay and effectively deny permits for even minor alterations to private houses.... [T]he Government presented evidence that the provisions had been motivated by discriminatory animus and served no legitimate governmental purpose....
