Oops - one more case that could reach the Supreme Court before Mr. Ireland's does.
Key line from this article - "We love the city of Ann Arbor, and most of our parishioners are from the city" .
Ms Hamilton is being kept very busy lately!
Church suing city in building dispute New Life says denial of auditorium project prevents entire congregation from meeting together
Monday, January 24, 2005 BY CATHERINE O'DONNELL
News Staff Reporter
A religious group is suing the city of Ann Arbor over denial of a building project, saying it violates religious freedom.
New Life Church, a Christian student ministry on Washtenaw Avenue, wants city approval of a 550-seat auditorium that would be built at the rear of the former Delta Zeta sorority house on Washtenaw Avenue north of Hill Street.
The city Planning Commission recommended denial in November after months of discussion with the church, saying the size, location and character of the new facility would be too large for the neighborhood.
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New Life filed suit Dec. 27 in the U.S. District Court in Detroit. The suit cites the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person Act, which says a municipality cannot place a substantial burden on religious exercise. The Rev. Steve Hayes, senior pastor at New Life, said the refusal to approve the auditorium effectively prevents the congregation from bringing all members together in worship.
"We love the city of Ann Arbor, and most of our parishioners are from the city," Hayes said. "This is painful for us because we fundamentally believe the Planning Commission applied the law unlawfully."
City Attorney Stephen Postema declined questions about the lawsuit, other than to say the city will answer the suit next week.
The issues raised by New Life are similar to those Canterbury House used to fight denial of its plans for a new worship space.
As an Episcopal student group, Canterbury House tried unsuccessfully in 2003 to have a U.S. District Court in Detroit overturn a court ruling denying permission to raze its East Huron Street structure in favor of a bigger one on the same site. The court, acknowledging the building an important historical feature of the neighborhood, said Canterbury House hadn't demonstrated enough hardship to substantially prevent religious exercise.
Marci Hamilton, a faculty member at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York and a specialist on the Religious Land Use Act, said similar religious land use cases are popping up across the country because churches are using their buildings more intensely, not only for church programs but for community ones such as Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
"And that's often not compatible with residential neighborhoods," Hamilton said.
New Life currently holds two Sunday services in the 400-seat auditorium at the University of Michigan Modern Languages building. It wanted to add a third service but, according to court papers, U-M denied permission. Church leaders say they investigated dozens of alternatives before focusing on the former sorority building.
Also according to the court documents filed by New Life, the city indicated in 2002 that the Washtenaw Avenue parcel would be suitable for the church's worship services and that its proposed development would be consistent with zoning for special exception use.
The Planning Department recommended approval of the New Life project in an August report to the Planning Commission. New Life had sought Planning Commission approval beginning in January but the request was repeatedly tabled before the denial in November.
Neighbors turned out in force at those commission meetings. Prudence Heikkenen, president of the Oxbridge Neighborhood Association, said at a September meeting that the size of the auditorium would be out of scale with the rest of the neighborhood.
Jean Carlberg, D-3rd Ward, who serves on the commission and City Council, was similarly worried. At the September meeting, she said 600 people using the New Life building would significantly affect the neighborhood.
New Life's attorney, David French, countered that the immediate neighborhood already includes large-use properties - fraternities, sororities and other churches - and that New Life would not be out of character.
Catherine O'Donnell can be reached at codonnell@annarbornews.com or (734) 994-6831.
