In Chabad of Prospect, Inc. v. Louisville Metro Board of Zoning Adjustment,(WD KY, Aug. 23, 2022), a Kentucky federal district court dismissed a suit brought against zoning officials by a synagogue that was denied a conditional use permit to use a home purchased by it for religious services. When the property was put up for sale, zoning rules allowed its use for religious purposes. However, before plaintiff purchased the property the city removed that provision and required a conditional use permit. Plaintiff was unaware of the change. The court held that plaintiff's Sec. 1983 claim alleging 1st Amendment violations was barred by the statute of limitations. Additionally, it held that plaintiff failed to state a claim under RLUIPA, saying in part:
Chabad alleged only that it chose and purchased the property “specifically” to open a synagogue for the community given that there are “[v]ery few synagogues” in the area and having one in “Prospect is vital to its mission.”... It didn’t allege any delay, expense, and uncertainty due to the burden of the denial. And Chabad never alleged that alternatives are infeasible, nor any other facts that indicate a substantial burden.
The court also rejected a claim under RLUIPA's "equal terms" provision, saying in part:
Chabad hasn’t offered anything to rebut the prediction that a house of worship would be more likely to cause greater traffic problems than regular residential events, even if the religious services are currently smaller....
Finally, the court rejected plaintiffs' state law claims.
