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The Effect Of Rluipa's Land Use Provisions On Local Government, Alan C. Weinstein
The Effect Of Rluipa's Land Use Provisions On Local Government, Alan C. Weinstein
Law Faculty Articles and Essays
In the absence of perfect information about how RLUIPA has affected local governments, this article argues that the courts have adopted a pragmatic approach to maneuvering in the difficult terrain that RLUIPA occupies: combining appropriate judicial deference to a legislature that enacts a neutral law of general applicability with the heightened judicial scrutiny that becomes appropriate when that same law is applied to a specific zoning approval, a circumstance that frequently allows for subjectivity, and thus the potential for discrimination or arbitrariness against religious uses, in the approval process. I conclude that: (1) until proven otherwise, the costs RLUIPA undoubtedly …
Rluipa: Where Are We Now? Where Are We Heading?, Alan C. Weinstein
Rluipa: Where Are We Now? Where Are We Heading?, Alan C. Weinstein
Law Faculty Articles and Essays
Over the past three years, hardly a week has gone by without at least one news-story announcing that a church, synagogue, or religious school-I'll use the term “church” from here on as a shorthand for all houses of worship or other religious institutions—is claiming that its right to religious freedom is being infringed by local government land use regulations in violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. RLUIPA, a federal statute signed into law in September 2000, was enacted to restore to full vigor legal protection for religious freedoms that the Act's proponents argue had been seriously …
Case Commentary - Martin V. Corporation Of The Presiding Bishop: Should Zoning Accommodate Religious Uses Or Vice Versa?, Alan C. Weinstein
Case Commentary - Martin V. Corporation Of The Presiding Bishop: Should Zoning Accommodate Religious Uses Or Vice Versa?, Alan C. Weinstein
Law Faculty Articles and Essays
In Martin v. Corporation of the Presiding Bishop, 747 N.E. 2d 131 (Mass. 2001), the highest court in Massachusetts rules that the Dover Amendment, a state statutes that denies local government the authority to "prohibit, regulate, or restrict the use of land or structures for religious purposes..." authorized the town of Belmont to grant a church special permission to build a steeple for a newly built Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints temple that was taller than the local zoning provisions would normally allow. Since Martin involved a Massachusetts statute, normally the decision would evoke limited interest, and …
Conflicts In Regulating Religious Institutions, Alan C. Weinstein
Conflicts In Regulating Religious Institutions, Alan C. Weinstein
Law Faculty Articles and Essays
Over the past 25 years, religious institutions have greatly increased their claims of violation of religious freedom when they are denied zoning approval or subjected to historic preservation regulations. While no one can definitively explain the causes of this increase in First Amendment challenges, it can partially be traced to recent changes in both our society and the way our political/legal system conceptualizes religious freedom.
The Challenge Of Providing Adequate Housing For The Elderly . . . Along With Everyone, Alan C. Weinstein
The Challenge Of Providing Adequate Housing For The Elderly . . . Along With Everyone, Alan C. Weinstein
Law Faculty Articles and Essays
Our patterns of land use and development have failed to accommodate the changed housing needs of an aging population. Primary among these needs is the desire of the elderly to be able to "age in place." To meet this need, America's suburban communities in particular will need to re-think their reliance on exclusive single-family zoning and begin planning and zoning for an increasingly large number of the elderly. Despite understandable concerns about maintaining housing values, this may well prove to be politically achievable simply because the very demographic changes that create the need will create a growing constituency in favor …
Report Of The Subcommittee On First Amendment And Land Use, Alan C. Weinstein, Edward H. Ziegler Jr.
Report Of The Subcommittee On First Amendment And Land Use, Alan C. Weinstein, Edward H. Ziegler Jr.
Law Faculty Articles and Essays
In recent years, there has been a marked expansion in the types of uses, both commercial and nonprofit, that challenge land-use regulations on First Amendment grounds. This expansion is occurring for two reasons. First, "land use and the first amendment" is a developing area in the law. As is typical of developing areas in the law, litigants are encouraged to bring cases because the law is unsettled and they hope to create significant new rights. Second, a number of societal factors have coalesced to create a greater potential for conflict when government regulates the use of land. In part, this …
First Amendment And Land Use, In Recent Developments In Land Use, Planning, And Zoning, Alan C. Weinstein, Edward E. Ziegler Jr.
First Amendment And Land Use, In Recent Developments In Land Use, Planning, And Zoning, Alan C. Weinstein, Edward E. Ziegler Jr.
Law Faculty Articles and Essays
In the mid-1980s, the focus in this area of the law was on nuisance closures and license revocation actions affecting adult bookstores and other kinds of establishments where either obscenity or illicit sexual activities were taking place. In our last committee report focusing on the first amendment area we reported on those areas of the law in light of the Supreme Court's decision in Arcara v. Cloud Books, Inc. Since then, there has been one important Fifth Circuit decision, FW/PBS Inc. v. City of Dallas, that the Supreme Court has agreed to review, with a decision expected in 1989. There …