Culpeper County rejects permit for Islamic prayer center

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Wed Apr 6, 2016, 12:07 PM - Edit history (3)

Source: Culpeper Star-Exponent via Richmond Times-Dispatch

Posted: Wednesday, April 6, 2016 9:42 am

ALLISON BROPHY CHAMPION | The Culpeper Star-Exponent

CULPEPER — A roomful of Culpeper County citizens cheered Tuesday morning when Supervisor Bill Chase made a motion to deny a request from the Islamic Center of Culpeper for a pump-and-haul permit to serve an envisioned mosque to be built on Rixeyville Road.
....

Chase’s motion to deny the Islamic Center’s request passed 4-3 with Fritz and Supervisors Sue Hansohn and Brad Rosenberger voting in the minority. Voting with Chase were Supervisors Gary Deal, Jack Frazier and Steve Walker. The split decision left applicant Mohammad Nawabe — an American citizen from Afghanistan — questioning the board’s motives.
....

University of Virginia School of Law professor Douglas Laycock said Tuesday that governments can’t deny permits based on religious use of a structure and that federal law places further restrictions, referencing the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. ... “It says developing property for religious use is a protected exercise of religion, so if the county substantially burdens the exercise of religion, if they make it substantially more difficult for this group to build a mosque, they have to justify that by showing they have a compelling government interest, which it certainly sounds like they don’t,” Laycock said.

The federal act also says places of worship can’t be treated less favorably than other places of public assembly, like theaters or meeting halls, he added. ... “That’s harder to prove, but it sounds like that might be going on here, as well,” Laycock said.

Read more: http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/article_5010ed76-c206-5195-88f4-978652001d06.html

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Culpeper County is in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Here's a link to the original article. It ran in the Star-Exponent yesterday, so it would not qualify for posting in LBN.

Culpeper County denies Islamic Center's permit request

Allison Brophy Champion is a news reporter for The Culpeper Star-Exponent. You can contact her at 540-825-0771 ext. 101 or [e-mail].​

Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act

The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), Pub.L. 106–274, codified as 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc et seq., is a United States federal law that prohibits the imposition of burdens on the ability of prisoners to worship as they please and gives churches and other religious institutions a way to avoid burdensome zoning law restrictions on their property use. It also defines the term “religious exercise” to include "any exercise of religion, whether or not compelled by, or central to, a system of religious belief." RLUIPA was enacted by the United States Congress in 2000 to correct the problems of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) of 1993. The act was passed in both the House of Representatives and the Senate by unanimous consent in voice votes, meaning that no objection was raised to its passage, so no written vote was taken.
....

Zoning and land use

In religious land use disputes, RLUIPA’s general rule is the most commonly cited and challenged section. It provides:

1.General rule. No government shall impose or implement a land use regulation in a manner that imposes a substantial burden on the religious exercise of a person, including a religious assembly or institution, unless the government can demonstrate that imposition of the burden on that person, assembly or institution
a.is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest; and
b.is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest.

2.Scope of Application. This subsection applies in any case in which—
a.the substantial burden is imposed in a program or activity that receives Federal financial assistance, even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability; or
b.the substantial burden affects, or removal of that substantial burden would affect, commerce with foreign nations, among the several States, or with Indian tribes, even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability; or
c.the substantial burden is imposed in the implementation of a land use regulation or system of land use regulations, under which a government makes, or has in place formal or informal procedures or practices that permit the government to make, individualized assessments of the proposed uses for the property involved.

42 U.S.C. § 2000cc-5(a).

During these disputes, the correct interpretation of the term “land use regulation” is almost always an issue. The statute defines “land use regulation” as “a zoning or landmarking law, or the application of such a law, that limits or restricts a claimant’s use or development of land (including a structure affixed to land), if the claimant has an ownership, leasehold, easement, servitude, or other property interest in the regulated land or a contract or option to acquire such an interest.” 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc-5(5).

[Nitram]

1. The irony is that conservatives are always talking about freedom of religion.

But, of course, they mean "freedom for my particular sect of Christianity."

[sinkingfeeling]

2. I hope they sue in a federal court.

[yellowcanine]

3. Culpeper County is on thin ice with this one......

Since 1995, the Culpeper County Board has received 19 requests for pump & haul applications – of those, 18 were approved, including for five churches.

[AlbertCat]

4. places of worship can’t be treated less favorably than other places of public assembly

Is that a commutative property (pun intended)

So theaters don"t have to pay taxes??????

[RiverNoord]

5. Land of the free and home of the brave...

Or, well, not so much.

It's not 'free' anymore, I guess, because of all that oppression of Christians going on everywhere. It's getting so Christians can't even use their proper place in government to shut down every other religion anymore without getting all... criticized and stuff.

And as for the brave, damn, how can Christians allow an existential threat, such as people who don't pray quite the same way that they do, to have places to plot the complete annihilation of Christianity in all its forms? Cuz that's what the Muslims are all about, of course. I mean, when they're not working, taking care of their kids (future jihadis!!!), making their mortgage payments, paying their taxes and muttering a bit about how high they are (that's just a ruse, of course - only proper Christian Americans really whine about their taxes!), watching and playing sports (inflitrating!!!), and, generally doing what seems to the uninformed mind as basically the same stuff everyone else is doing. They say they 'pray' in their 'Mosques,' but every properly educated Christian knows that every one of those places has a training facility for terrorism. The proof is in the fact that you can't find them! That's how devious they are...

Obviously, common human decency and bravery must be sacrificed to protect pure Christian America from the raging threat posed by People Who Don't Look Like Us!

Ugh.

[Democat]

6. Is this part of the war on Christians?

Or the war by Christians?

[Sunlei]

7. This Local Gov. will cost their 'Culpeper County' much money when they lose.

[Kip Humphrey]

8. Idiot bigots seldom know the law (and usually don't care).

[ChairmanAgnostic]

9. a few years before I moved to my current location,

about 18 yrs ago, the village council approved the sale of a bankrupt church to a muslim group, then refused allow them a permit to operate it. Because they were muslim.

That litigation went on for 2 yrs, and the village lost. Big time. legal fees for both sides, etc.

Even though the Muslim group won, they decided not to use the church. They found another location, that actually was better for their needs. They also brought a bunch of stores and shops, including Hallal based food stores, all of which were tax revenue producing and job producing. My village not only lost, it lost, and lost. And in the court of public opinion, lost yet again.

[Major Nikon]

10. Lots of places have similar provisions for pump-and-haul permits

So this may not go anywhere.

[csziggy]

14. But Culpeper has a history of approving most pump-and-haul permits

From the link in the OP: "Since 1995, the Culpeper County Board has received 19 requests for pump & haul applications – of those, 18 were approved, including for five churches."

They are only talking about 15 attendees and the town has plans to extend their sewage system to where the property is. Part of the agreement is that once they can hook up to the town system, the mosque would do it.

I think the mosque has a good case here - but I am not an attorney.

[Initech]

11. This story should be thrown in conservatives faces...

The next time they cry about "religious freedom".

[mwrguy]

12. TCB

[d_legendary1]

13. Don't cha know that this islamic prayer center is an attack on Christianity?

If you put one up then all of them start coming out of the wood work and by the time you know it the streets will start looking like down town Istanbul! This must be stopped!