Written by Don Byrd
Last week the federal government filed suit against St. Anthony, Minnesota, charging the town with violating the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). RLUIPA bars local governments from treating the land-use requests of religious organizations differently than non-religious requests.
In 2012, the complaint alleges, St. Anthony unlawfully discriminated against a Somali-American congregation in denying a permit to use part of an office building as an Islamic Center. City officials declined settlement offers by the U.S. Attorney, according to this Associated Press report. As a result, the town is in for a potentially costly and losing legal battle.
In yesterday’s Minnesota Star-Tribune, the editorial board lambasted St. Anthony’s decision to “double down” on its mistake:
Even as city officials continued to try to rationalize their position — that this is all about job generation — they could not name any businesses that have expressed interest in the basement space. Nor did they cite any industries for which the space might be suitable or how many jobs might be generated there.
…
If this dispute was really about economic development, those answers should have been forthcoming. It’s easy to see why outside experts scoffed at [City Attorney Jay] Lindgren’s assurances that this is simply about the city’s exercising its right to protect industrial space.
The City’s decision to fight the lawsuit demonstrates the continued struggle for basic recognition faced by many religious minorities in much of the country. Kudos to the U.S. Attorney’s office for holding St. Anthony to account for its decision.
For more on RLUIPA, check out the BJC’s RLUIPA resource page here. Also see previous blog posts on other news stories related to RLUIPA here.
