Related Federal Cases
- Woodcliff Lake Officials Sued Over Zoning Denial · New Jersey
- Woodcliff Lake in RLUIPA Crosshairs · New Jersey
- Baroni, Kelly Guilty in Fort Lee Lane Closure Scandal · Washington
- Bridget Kelly Sentenced in Bridgegate Scandal · Washington
- Smuggling Scandal Rocks Jersey City: Top Railroad Official in Custody · Pennsylvania
Woodcliff Lake Officials Accused of Zoning Scandal
The Borough of Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, is facing a lawsuit from the Justice Department for allegedly denying zoning approval for an Orthodox Jewish congregation to build a new place of worship.
The complaint, filed in the District of New Jersey, alleges that Woodcliff Lake’s denial of a variance imposed a substantial burden on the Valley Chabad’s religious exercise.
The Valley Chabad sought to purchase three different sites in the borough to construct a place of worship between 2005 and 2013, but the borough took steps to thwart each attempt.
After nine years of searching for a suitable location, the Valley Chabad sought to construct a larger place of worship at its current location in the borough in 2014.
After two years, 18 hearings, and substantial revisions by Valley Chabad to address size and transportation concerns, the zoning board denied the application, citing aesthetic concerns, the adverse impact on the “residential character of the neighborhood,” and safety issues.
“The right to use land for religious exercise, free from unduly burdensome or discriminatory restrictions, is a fundamental constitutional right,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore. “The government remains vigilant in its enforcement of federal civil rights laws protecting religious groups’ ability to establish places of worship without improper interference.”
The government in this case is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael E. Campion, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Civil Rights Unit, Civil Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Millenky, Civil Division.
The Justice Department has announced the “Place to Worship Initiative,” which will focus on protecting the ability of houses of worship and other religious institutions to build, expand, buy, or rent facilities—as provided by the land use provisions of the RLUIPA.
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.
More information about RLUIPA and the Place to Worship Initiative is available at www.justice.gov/crt/placetoworship and at http://www.justice.gov/crt/rluipa.
Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
Public CorruptionPublic CorruptionPublic CorruptionPublic Corruption