The following is excerpted from the U.S. DOJ’s Religious Freedom in Focus Newsletter (October 2011)
On September 12, a federal court in Virginia approved a consent decree resolving the United States’ lawsuit alleging that the County of Henrico, Virginia violated RLUIPA when it denied a request for rezoning by a Muslim organization to construct a mosque. The settlement, which was approved by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond, resolved a suit by the United States filed on September 6.
The case arose from the county’s denial of a 2008 application for construction of a mosque by 1241 Associates, LLC, a Muslim organization. The government’s complaint, which was filed with the court along with a proposed consent decree, alleged that the county’s denial of the rezoning application was based on the religious bias of county officials and to appease members of the public who, because of religious bias, opposed the construction of the mosque. The complaint further alleged that the county treated the Muslim organization differently than non-Muslim groups that regularly have been granted similar rezoning requests.
As part of the settlement, the county agreed to treat the mosque and all religious groups equally and to publicize its non-discrimination policies and practices. The county also agreed that its leaders and various county employees will attend training on the requirements of RLUIPA. In addition, the county will report periodically to the Justice Department.
On September 1, 2011, the Department reached a similar consent decree in federal court in Georgia, resolving allegations that the City of Lilburn violated RLUIPA when it denied an Islamic Center’s requests for rezoning to expand its mosque. The United States’ complaint in that case also alleged that the city’s denials of the rezoning requests were based on religious bias of city officials and to appease members of the public opposed to the mosque because of religious bias.
