Woodcliff Lake, Zoning Violations, New Jersey 2023

The Borough of Woodcliff Lake in New Jersey has agreed to settle zoning violations with the US government, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced today.

The agreement comes after the US government alleged that the borough violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) by denying zoning approval for an Orthodox Jewish congregation to construct a worship center on its property.

The proposed consent decree, which was filed today in the US District Court of the District of New Jersey and must still be approved by the Court, would resolve a lawsuit filed by the United States against the borough.

The complaint alleged that Woodcliff Lake violated RLUIPA by imposing a substantial burden on Valley Chabad’s religious exercise when, on three occasions between 2006 and 2013, Valley Chabad attempted to purchase parcels of property in the borough in order to construct a house of worship and meeting center, called a Chabad house, large enough to meet its needs.

The borough purchased or re-zoned the parcels, preventing development of a Chabad house, the complaint alleged. The complaint also alleges that this conduct and the borough’s eventual denial of Valley Chabad’s application for zoning relief to expand on its current property burdened Valley Chabad’s ability to worship freely without furthering a compelling government interest.

As part of the consent decree, the borough will permit Valley Chabad to construct a new Chabad house on its property. The resolution would also enjoin the borough from acting in a manner that violates RLUIPA and require the borough to establish a procedure for receiving and resolving RLUIPA complaints, train its employees on RLUIPA’s requirements, and submit regular reports to the United States and the court on its compliance.

The settlement is a significant victory for Valley Chabad and the Orthodox Jewish community, who will now be able to construct a new house of worship without facing unlawful barriers.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/pr/us-attorney-s-office-settles-claims-against-borough-woodcliff-lake-involving-denial