Colorado town can't prevent church from sheltering homeless on its property, judge rules
A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Colorado town from prohibiting a church from housing homeless individuals in RVs on their church property.
U.S. District Judge Daniel Domenico granted The Rock Church a preliminary injunction in part last Friday against the Town of Castle Rock, which had tried to stop the congregation from sheltering homeless individuals on their campus.
"The Church stresses that by preventing it from allowing the homeless to live on its property, the Town is precluding the Church from exercising its religious beliefs regardless of whether it might be possible to provide for the needy in some other way," Domenico, a Trump appointee, wrote in a court order.
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"To the extent there is a dispute about whether the Church's stated beliefs actually require it to provide shelter on its own property, there is no reason to second-guess the Church at this point, regardless of how idiosyncratic or mistaken the Town may find its beliefs to be."
Domenico wrote that the town did not "explicitly argue that it has a compelling interest in enforcing the (Planning Division) Regulations as interpreted by the Board of Adjustment."
"As the Church has emphasized, and the Town has not disputed, 'the Church has never experienced any public-safety or other related issues while carrying out this ministry, even as it has temporarily house(d) numerous individuals and small families,'" he continued.
"Instead, the Town appears concerned about the precedent that would be set, which it suggests might allow either much larger housing projects on the Church's own property."
The nondenominational church is also known as the Church of the Rock. In recent years, Rock Church has sheltered homeless individuals in campers on its property. The congregation has also been looking into building short-term housing for the less fortunate on its campus.
Last November, Castle Rock officials posted a statement on the town website explaining that the church needed to amend its "development plan to allow for additional uses."
"The church's current zoning does not allow housing. If the church wants to pursue changes to its zoning, it needs to submit a formal application to the Town. Before submitting an application, they would have to hold a public neighborhood meeting," town officials stated.
"At least three public neighborhood meetings would be required as part of the process. Properties within 500 feet of the church's land would receive mailed notices from the church, along with additional notice requirements."
The church sued the town in January, arguing that the local restrictions violated the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and hindered its ministry efforts.
"Castle Rock does not have the right to tell the Rock which vehicles can be parked in its private lot, how long they can be parked there, and whether someone can sit, stand, eat, or sleep in such vehicle," read their complaint, in part.
As the case moves forward, Domenico contends that the church is likely to succeed on the merits of its case.
"The Church responds that its religious beliefs don’t just obligate it to provide for the needy in some general way; they obligate it to provide for the needy on Church property," the judge wrote. "Specifically, the Church points to Leviticus 25:35–36, which urges Christians to allow the poor to 'continue to live among you.' The Church stresses that by preventing it from allowing the homeless to live on its property, the Town is precluding the Church from exercising its religious beliefs regardless of whether it might be possible to provide for the needy in some other way."
