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The "All Opinions are Welcome, but Sorry no Instigators" Board -> Rockaway Township Free Speech -> Passaic Herald News
Post Info TOPIC: Passaic Herald News
karen


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Passaic Herald News
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Church suing town's officials; Rockaway Township blocked new facility





By YUNG KIM, Special to the Herald News, North Jersey Media Group
Herald News (Passaic County, NJ)
April 18, 2005








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A Montclair church and one of its officers filed a complaint in federal court Friday against a Morris County municipality, claiming 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 suit filed in U.S. District Court.


The church is attempting to build a new 2,512-seat sanctuary and other facilities on a 101-acre site located at 140 Green Pond Road. The site is currently occupied by an empty office and industrial park.




Named as defendants in the suit 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 suit, the plaintiffs claim that 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, according to court documents.


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.


Municipal officials also are accused of "stirring up" residents to oppose the church, which further delayed its application to municipal planning and zoning boards.


Sceusi could not be reached Friday evening via his office line.


Christ Church, whose congregation is predominantly black, has become one of the largest churches in New Jersey.


In 2003, residents and officials balked after church officials pitched a proposal to build a sanctuary with stadium seating, an indoor fitness center, jogging trails, tennis courts, a private elementary school, and a weekend school for the performing arts.


Hundreds of township residents banded together to oppose the project, arguing their community of 22,000 is too small for such a big church.



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JohnQ


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Wow - where to start? We oppose it because our 22,000 resident town is too small? Is that direct from CC or what? What has been denied yet? PR campaign is in full swing!

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JohnQ


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third party providers=pr firms. Here is their phone #

James McGarvey, Editor
Newsroom
Phone: (201) 646-4100
Fax: (201) 646-4135
newsroom@northjersey.com
Newsroom
Phone: 973-569-7100
Fax: 973-569-7129
hncitydesk@northjersey.com


"NorthJersey.com is among Northern New Jersey's leaders in on-line news and information delivery. Along with content from The Record and Herald News, NorthJersey.com gathers information from other sources such as AP wire, KnightRidder, freelancers, and third-party providers. The site is updated daily with local news and breaking news from around the nation."


-- Edited by JohnQ at 07:50, 2005-04-21

-- Edited by JohnQ at 07:52, 2005-04-21

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Mark B


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I know nothing about legal terms etc. but I wonder about this line in the article:

"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 suit filed in U.S. District Court."

My questions:
How can someone who is a pastor be the plantiff when it is the church that is sueing?

Does this mean that the pastor is the church, or is the equivilant of the sole proprietor/president of a privately held corporation?

So does this mean that if the "individual plaintiff" wins, is he the sole benefactor of the windfall??

Let me know.
Mark

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Lisa Salberg


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you have a very good question.  It would appear that he is looking for personal gain from this situation.


Lisa


 



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The truth wins out over slick PR and personal attacks. The Christ Church Plan for the redevelopment of 140 Green Pond Rd is just too big for the area.
karen


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just as we noticed in testimony long ago...not "we" or "the church", but always "I"



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Rational


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Mark,


From my experience, please do not try to read too much into that aspect of things.  That is pretty much standard language as far as I can see. 


However, I must present a little caveat.  All of my experiences with such actions have been involved in civil lawsuits on the NJ county level (ie. Essex, Morris, and Hunterdon). 



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