The Supreme Court today announced that it had agreed to hear a case that could determine how a federal law affecting zoning and other land-use rules nationwide should be determined.
The case is Missionaries of St. John the Baptist v. Frederic, in which an independent Catholic organization is appealing a denial of its plans to build a small shrine on property it owns in Park Hills, Ky. The organization claims that the Kentucky Supreme Court should have approved the shrine under the terms of the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), a law unanimously passed by Congress in 2000 to provide certain religious-liberty protections beyond those guaranteed by the First Amendment.
As is typical, the Supreme Court gave no details about its decision to hear the case, a decision that requires the support of at least four of the justices. Oral arguments will probably take place in the spring of 2027 with a ruling coming late in the term that ends next June or July.
If the court agrees with the Catholic group, it might become easier in some jurisdictions for churches and other religious organizations to get variances and other types of permission for their land-use projects. Some jurisdictions already follow a broad interpretation of the law as sought by the Missionaries.
The case is the third dispute involving religious issues that the high court has agreed to hear during its term that begins Oct. 5. The other two are:
🟪 St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, in which two Catholic parishes and others are fighting a Colorado decision to exclude certain Catholic schools from state funding from a universal preschool program because they admit only children from families who support Catholic beliefs, including those on sexuality and gender. The parishes claim the exclusion violates the free-exercise clause of the First Amendment; the state claims it has an interest in not using taxpayer funding to support discrimination. The Supreme Court’s ultimate decision is likely to be a landmark ruling that will determine the extent that faith-based schools receiving funding will be free to engage in discrimination that would be unlawful in other contexts. Oral arguments are scheduled for Nov. 3.
🟪 Grand v. City of University Heights, in which Daniel Grand, an Orthodox Jew from University Heights, Ohio, is suing the city over the way it has handled his proposal to hold small religious gatherings in his home. Grand is suing the city under both RLUIPA and the First Amendment. Oral arguments have been scheduled for Dec. 9.
The Supreme Court also has been asked to hear other religious-based cases such as those involving faith-based charter schools and state requirements for posting the Ten Commandments in public schools. Decisions to hear or not hear those cases could come at any time.
The case involving the proposed shrine began in March 2021 when the Missionaries of St. John the Baptist applied for a conditional-use permit and a variance on property behind a church that it owns to provide a place that visitors could use for prayer and reflection. The Park Hills Board of Adjustment quickly gave its legal OK. That decision, however, was taken to court by neighbors Joel and Elizabeth Frederic, who are concerned about, among other things, the traffic that the shrine would generate. A trial court backed the city’s decision, but that ruling was then overturned by the Kentucky Court of Appeals. The Catholic group appealed that ruling, which was backed by the Kentucky Supreme Court.
The case is being fought over technical issues involving how to apply a clause in RLIUPA that prevents government from imposing land-use regulations that impose a “substantial burden” on religious exercise unless the action furthers a compelling government interest and is the least restrictive means to further that interest. The Kentucky Supreme Court said that a “substantial burden” was not imposed on the Missionaries in part because they could have modified their plans to fit the city’s ordinance; the Frederics claim that the state court correctly applied the law.
Lawyers from the First Liberty Institute, which traditionally takes on conservative causes, are among those representing the Missionaries.