Fed. Dist. Court of Nevada Upholds Denial of Special Use Permit Application for a Church

This post was authored by Matthew Loeser, Esq.

Pentecostal Church of God d/b/a Great Life Church and Pastor Larry Spivey’s petitioned for judicial review of the denial of a special use permit application. The Church argued for the reversal of the Board’s decision on four grounds: that no substantial evidence supported the denial of the Church’s application; that the denial results in a violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”); that the denial results in a violation of equal protection; and that the denial resulted in a violation of due process.

On appeal, the court found that the public testimony opposing the project constituted substantial evidence for the Board to rely on when denying the Church a special use permit. The Board denied the Church a permit, citing the project’s failure to meet two considerations under DCC § 20.604.060: “the required compatibility with the character and integrity of the neighborhood despite mitigating project modifications and the resulting traffic impact would not be hazardous or conflicting with the existing traffic.”

Petitioners next claimed that the denial of the special use permit resulted in a substantial burden on their religious exercise as it prevented them from using their property in a manner that was “compatible with the county code when necessary steps are taken and conditions are imposed to mitigate any legitimate adverse effects…” Here, however, the Board found the property unsuitable based on its proximity to an already busy, and possibly dangerous, intersection as well as its location in a particular neighborhood. Consequently, the denial did not limit the Church’s opportunity or ability to seek out other available properties and did not suggest an application related to a more suitable property would be denied. Accordingly, the court denied the RLUIPA claim based on Petitioners’ failure to demonstrate a substantial burden on their religious exercise. As, the RLUIPA claim was the basis for Petitioners’ due process claim, that claim was likewise dismissed.

As to Petitioners’ class-of-one claim, the court found that despite the existence of several other churches within the area, the administrative record did not indicate that the existing churches were located at the same intersection, or at a similar intersection, as the at-issue property. Instead, the traffic concerns regarding the busy intersection appeared unique to the property on which the Church sought to construct its building. As such, the court affirmed the Board’s denial, and denied Petitioners’ challenges under RLUIPA, equal protection and due process.

Pentecostal Church of God v Douglas County, 2018 WL 1611184 (D NV 4/2/2018)