BREAKING NEWS: Court Affirms Religious Zoning Law
by James D. Besser
Washington Correspondent
A federal appeals court in New York has upheld a law protecting
religious institutions from undue interference by local zoning
authorities in a case involving an Orthodox day school.
The controversy, which has raged since 2001, involves the Westchester
Day School's plans for a $12 million expansion and complaints by
neighborhood residents that the expansion will worsen the area's
traffic woes.
The three-judge panel, supporting a lower court decision, ruled that
Westchester authorities improperly denied a permit application by
the school.
The case is widely seen as an important test of the 2000 Religious
Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). That law was
passed in response to complaints by Orthodox groups and other
religious communities that local authorities too often discriminate
against religious schools and houses of worship in zoning rulings.
The law also protects the religious rights of inmates in state and
local prisons.
The village of Mamaroneck has not indicated if it will appeal the
decision. If it does, the stage could be set for the first major
Supreme Court test of the land use provisions of the 2000 law.
Orthodox Jewish groups hailed the ruling.
"This is a very important decision not just for the Orthodox
community, but for religious institutions in the Tri-State area and
around the country," said Nathan Diament, public affairs director for
the Orthodox Union. "We're pleased that the RLUIPA statute, which we
worked so hard to pass, is being interpreted by the courts in the way
we intended."
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