A Montclair church and one of its officers filed a complaint in federal court Friday against a Morris County municipality, arguing that it unlawfully thwarted plans to build a new house of worship, according to court documents.
Senior Pastor David Ireland of Christ Church of Montclair, named as the individual plaintiff, accuses Rockaway Township officials of a "pattern of unlawful conduct," according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court.
The church is attempting to build a 2,512-seat sanctuary and other facilities on a 101-acre site at 140 Green Pond Road. The site is occupied by an empty office and industrial park.
Christ Church, which is predominantly African-American, has become one of the largest churches in New Jersey.
Named as defendants in the lawsuit are Rockaway Township Mayor Louis S. Sceusi, members of the Township Council, the Rockaway Township Planning Board, its members, and the township Environmental Commission, among others.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs say municipal officials violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 and denied church members the right to free exercise of religion, freedom of speech and assembly, and equal protection of federal, state and local laws.
The defendants "manufactured discriminatory and improper barriers to Christ Church's proposed redevelopment of the property, and thus blocked the fulfillment of the church's religious mission," according to court documents.
Sceusi could not be reached Friday evening via his office line.
