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Whose America? Where religious discrimination is the law of the land
By Kevin J. Hasson
The landlord (the shopping center owner) would be happy to have them.
In fact, he signed a lease with them almost a year ago. But when Pastor
David Bailey went to get a building permit to allow him to spruce up the
space, city zoning officials told him he couldn't occupy the space at
all because religious worship wasn't allowed in a business district.
Haven Shores is a new church of about a hundred members, affiliated
with the Reformed Church in America. Its purpose is to worship and
glorify G-d by reaching out and serving the community of Grand Haven,
Michigan. They currently hold worship services in Grand Haven High
School, they rent office space in Grand Haven Township, and they hold
meetings in homes, churches and other facilities around the community
because they don't yet have a church facility of their own.
When Rev. Bailey found that space for their growing congregation was
available at the South Village Plaza at a very reasonable rate, leaders
in the church were thrilled. It was in a prime location and perfectly
situated for their ministry, the convenience of their members and held
the promise of attracting new members to the church.
The shopping center is located in a district zoned as "B-1," meaning
it's intended for businesses. But the zoning ordinance also specifies
that principal uses in a B-1 district may include "private clubs,
fraternal organizations and lodge halls." It also specifically allows
"theaters, assembly halls, concert halls, or other similar places of
public assembly."
In other words, a Moose Lodge would be permitted without question.
American Legion? No problem. But a church? Fageddaboudit.
The city's Zoning Board of Appeals initially waffled a bit, handing
things off to the Planning Commission, which decided to do nothing. The
Zoning Board then decided that even though the ordinance doesn't mention
churches at all, and specifically allows use of such property as a
"place of assembly," they weren't going to permit THIS kind of
assembly. And the City Attorney ordered Board members to stop talking
about it.
And so, nine months after signing the lease, Haven Shores Community
Church is still without a permanent location. Last week, the Grand
Haven City Council put the icing on the cake by refusing to overrule the
Zoning Board, in part out of fear that other churches might want to
follow suit and relocate into similar locations throughout the area.
Heaven forbid!
There is something horribly wrong in the beautiful lakeside community
of Grand Haven. And it's a problem that isn't limited to just one city or one state.
The use of zoning laws to freeze out, isolate or rigidly control
religious practice is a growing problem all over America. Churches and
religious people of a variety of faiths in Massachusetts, Florida,
Oregon, Indiana and Illinois, just to name a few, have recently suffered
at the hands of city officials wielding zoning ordinances. It is a big
problem for smaller churches that are being "zoned out" of prime
locations by decidedly anti-religious forces. And unchecked, it is a
trend that will inevitably threaten large and small religious groups
alike.
At the very least, a religious congregation should be afforded the
same rights as a Moose Lodge. My organization, the Becket Fund for
Religious Liberty, will shortly go into federal court seeking an
injunction against Grand Haven that will force them to honor the
constitutional rights enjoyed by the Haven Shores Community Church and
every other religious group in America. It is a battle for one small
church, of course, but it's also a battle for all of us who wish to
worship G-d unburdened by irrational and arbitrary constraints imposed
by hostile government officials and bureaucrats
http://www.jewishworldreview.com --
A STOREFRONT CHURCH isn't much of a storefront church without its
storefront. But city officials in a small Michigan town have denied the
Haven Shores Community Church the right to move into a shopping center
simply because it's a church.
JWR contributor Kevin Hasson is president of The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. Let him know what you think by clicking here.
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