In Divine Grace Yoga Ashram Inc. v. County of Yavapai, (D AZ, Jan. 31, 2022), an Arizona federal district court rejected a RLUIPA claim by an Ashram that objects to the county's insistence it obtain a Conditional Use Permit to continue to operate its retreats and daily meditations on a 12.6 acre ranch property next to the Coconino National Forest. Plaintiff contends that the Permit requirement violates the "equal terms" provision of RLUIPA because public and charter schools in the same area zoned Residential Single Family are exempt from the requirement. The court concluded however that public and charter schools are not similarly situated to plaintiff. State law prohibits localities from imposing zoning restrictions on such schools. That makes them different.
