Anglican church wins land-use fight with Florida city

After a two year legal battle, a Florida Anglican congregation finalized an agreement on Monday with the city of Jacksonville Beach for a special permit to build a church on land located in an area zoned for residential development.

The Church of Our Savior, founded in 2006, is the only Anglican church in the city and surrounding seaside communities on Florida’s northeast coast. It has rented various spaces over the years and now meets for Sunday services at the Beaches Museum Chapel, a small historic chapel owned by the area historical society. When it outgrew the chapel’s maximum capacity of 140 people in 2013, the church began looking for a location to build its own building, according to the lawsuit.

Senior pastor David Ball found an affordable piece of property, about 1.5 acres, on the small town’s main drag. He thought the location would be ideal for attracting worshipers around the community.

But the land was zoned for “residential, single family” use, and it was split down the middle by a city-owned sewer station. Organizations can ask for an exception to city zoning laws by requesting the City Planning Commission approve a Conditional Use Permit (CUP), which for residential property includes “religious organizations” and “public and private elementary and secondary schools,” according to the lawsuit.

The church applied twice in 2013 for a CUP, which won approval from the city planner. But the Planning Commission denied both requests.

The church sued the city in federal court for violating the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). Passed in 2000, RLUIPA protects individuals, houses of worship, and other religious institutions from discrimination in zoning laws, noting in part, “No government shall impose or implement a land use regulation in a manner that treats a religious assembly or institution on less than equal terms with a nonreligious assembly or institution.”

The church claimed the city treated it differently because the commission in 1994 gave a CUP to a private Montessori school, over residents’ objections. The court ruled in November 2014 that the city of Jacksonville Beach violated RLUIPA by subjecting the church to “less than equal” treatment compared to other organizations and had not provided proof of a “compelling government interest” that justified its actions. The judgment ordered the city to pay the church’s attorneys’ fees and grant a permit to the church.

The city appealed the case to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

“It was at this point we became involved in the case,” Luke Goodrich, deputy general counsel for The Becket Fund, told me. “We helped the parties negotiate a settlement. The city council approved the settlement [on Monday] and they abandoned the appeal.”

The settlement forwarded to me by Goodrich states the city admits no wrongdoing and will pay $290,000 for the church’s attorneys’ fees. The city also granted a walkway across the sewer line that splits the church property, requiring the church to carry a special insurance policy in case of damages.

“We are so thankful to finally be free to build a house of worship in the place we believe God has called us,” Ball said in a press release.