Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2015 2:16:29 GMT
Justice Department sues Pittsfield Township over rejection of Islamic school plans
www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2015/10/justice_department_sues_pittsf.html?ath=c58c2a6a8c809b9aad60e3927185c8b8#cmpid=nsltr_stryheadline
After a long and emotional planning process throughout 2010 and 2011,
the township concluded that the MIA had not addressed its concerns over
the visual impact on a neighboring subdivision, noise and increased traffic.
It also contended that the school is inconsistent with its master plan because it isn't "small-scale."
The MIA disputed the township's claims and its attorneys forwarded the
case to the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, which filed the lawsuit.
The Justice Department filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court Monday afternoon.
It alleges the township violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person Act
(RLUIPA) by denying the Michigan Islamic Academy's request to rezone a 26-acre parcel
south of the Golfside and Ellsworth roads intersection in October 2011.
RLUIPA, enacted in 2000 by Congress, prohibits religious discrimination and
protects against unjustified burdens on religious exercise. The Justice Department
charges the township is placing undue burden on the MIA, and it's seeking relief.
"The law prohibits the government from imposing land use regulations that
substantially burden religious exercise unless there is a compelling government
interest and uses the least restrictive means of doing so," U.S. District Attorney
Barbara McQuade wrote in a statement. "This complaint alleges that Pittsfield
Township denied the Michigan Islamic Academy's request to build a school in violation of that law.
www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2015/10/justice_department_sues_pittsf.html?ath=c58c2a6a8c809b9aad60e3927185c8b8#cmpid=nsltr_stryheadline
After a long and emotional planning process throughout 2010 and 2011,
the township concluded that the MIA had not addressed its concerns over
the visual impact on a neighboring subdivision, noise and increased traffic.
It also contended that the school is inconsistent with its master plan because it isn't "small-scale."
The MIA disputed the township's claims and its attorneys forwarded the
case to the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, which filed the lawsuit.
The Justice Department filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court Monday afternoon.
It alleges the township violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person Act
(RLUIPA) by denying the Michigan Islamic Academy's request to rezone a 26-acre parcel
south of the Golfside and Ellsworth roads intersection in October 2011.
RLUIPA, enacted in 2000 by Congress, prohibits religious discrimination and
protects against unjustified burdens on religious exercise. The Justice Department
charges the township is placing undue burden on the MIA, and it's seeking relief.
"The law prohibits the government from imposing land use regulations that
substantially burden religious exercise unless there is a compelling government
interest and uses the least restrictive means of doing so," U.S. District Attorney
Barbara McQuade wrote in a statement. "This complaint alleges that Pittsfield
Township denied the Michigan Islamic Academy's request to build a school in violation of that law.