Woodcliff Lake in RLUIPA Crosshairs

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – In a move aimed at protecting the rights of religious institutions, the Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against the Borough of Woodcliff Lake and the Woodcliff Lake Zoning Board of Adjustment in New Jersey.

The lawsuit alleges that the borough’s zoning denial constitutes a violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), a federal law that bars land use regulations that impose a substantial burden on religious exercise without a compelling justification.

According to a Justice Department statement, the lawsuit marks the first step in the DOJ’s ‘Place to Worship Initiative,’ aimed at protecting houses of worship and other religious institutions from discriminatory land use regulations.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement, ‘The Constitution doesn’t just protect freedom to worship in private—it protects the public exercise of religious belief, including where people worship together. Under the laws of this country, government cannot discriminate against people based on their religion—-not in law enforcement, not in grant-making, not in hiring, and not in local zoning laws.’

The Justice Department will work with the United States Attorney’s Offices to strengthen awareness of the land use provisions of RLUIPA by hosting community outreach events, educating municipal officials and religious organizations, and providing additional training and resources for federal prosecutors.

The first community outreach event under the initiative will be held on June 25 in Newark, New Jersey, led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. The DOJ has also launched a new web page, including an information page and easily accessible complaint portal, a new Q and A document on RLUIPA, and other materials (https://www.justice.gov/crt/place-worship-initiative).

RLUIPA is a federal law that protects religious institutions from unduly burdensome or discriminatory land use regulations. Specifically, RLUIPA bars land use regulations that impose a substantial burden on religious exercise without a compelling justification, requires governments to treat houses of worship as favorably as nonreligious assemblies, and bars governments from discriminating among religions and from totally or unreasonably excluding houses of worship.

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