The City of St. Johns, Michigan is facing a lawsuit – Planet Aid v. City of St. Johns, Michigan, Docket No. 1:14-cv-00149 (W.D. Mich. 2014) – as a result of an amendment to its zoning ordinance to prohibit donation bins throughout the City.  The City justifies its actions on the ground that several “for-profit companies” were operating donation bins in the City without first obtaining permission to do so.  The Ordinance states that its purpose is to prevent blight, protect property values, avoid nuisances and criminal activity, and ensure the safe and sanitary maintenance of properties in the City.

The City is not being sued by a for-profit corporation; instead, it is being sued by Planet Aid, a non-profit corporation whose mission it is to reduce poverty and aid vulnerable children.  Planet Aid seeks to achieve its mission in part by placing donation bins at various sites in Michigan and other states at which it collects clothing, shoes, and textiles.  It then sells the donated items and uses the proceeds to fund development programs in impoverished communities in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

In furtherance of its mission, in December 2012, Planet Aid placed donation bins at two locations in the City.  Approximately one month later, the City demanded that the donation bins be removed because they allegedly constituted a “nuisance.”  In February 2013, the City removed the bins and refused to allow Planet Aid to challenge its findings through an appeal to an administrative agency.  In December 2013, the City discussed a proposed ordinance to prohibit the operation of donation bins within the City.  The Ordinance passed on January 27, 2014 and prohibits any organization – for-profit and non-profit – from operating donation bins within the City.

Notably, the Ordinance includes a “grandfather” clause to exempt donations bins that existed prior to its adoption.  Because Planet Aid’s donation bins were removed by the City prior to the adoption of the Ordinance, it is unable to take advantage of the “grandfather” clause.

Planet Aid argues that the City’s actions violate both the state and federal constitutions.  It alleges that the Ordinance is unconstitutional because it prohibits Planet Aid from receiving charitable donations, an activity protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  Charitable organizations that operate permanent structures, such as Salvation Army and Goodwill, are unaffected by the Ordinance and can solicit and accept charitable donations.

Planet Aid seeks a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to enjoin the City from prohibiting the operation of donation bins.  Argument is scheduled for April 29, 2014.

Although this case does not involve a claim under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), the mission of many religious institutions is to provide free food, clothing, and other charitable services to the poor and homeless.  Many do so through the use of donation bins such as those outlawed by St. Johns, Michigan.  Planet Aid’s lawsuit may serve as an important reminder for municipalities to first consider whether their contemplated actions may be susceptible to RLUIPA and/or constitutional challenges and, second, whether they have a compelling governmental interest to justify such actions.  If municipalities fail to fully understand the risks associated with their actions, they may be in for a costly legal battle.

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Photo of Evan Seeman Evan Seeman

Evan J. Seeman is a lawyer in Robinson+Cole’s Hartford office and focuses his practice on land use, real estate, environmental, and regulatory matters, representing local governments, developers and advocacy groups. He has spoken and written about RLUIPA, and was a lead author of…

Evan J. Seeman is a lawyer in Robinson+Cole’s Hartford office and focuses his practice on land use, real estate, environmental, and regulatory matters, representing local governments, developers and advocacy groups. He has spoken and written about RLUIPA, and was a lead author of an amicus curiae brief at the petition stage before the United States Supreme Court in a RLUIPA case entitled City of San Leandro v. International Church of the Foursquare Gospel.

Evan serves as the Secretary/Treasurer of the APA’s Planning & Law Division. He also serves as the Chair of the Planning & Zoning Section of the Connecticut Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section, and is the former Co-Chair of its Municipal Law Section. He has been named to the Connecticut Super Lawyers® list as a Rising Star in the area of Land Use Law for 2013 and 2014. He received his B.A. in political science and Russian studies (with honors) from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, where he was selected as the President’s Fellow in the Department of Modern Languages and Literature. Evan received his Juris Doctor at the University of Connecticut School of Law, where he served on the Connecticut Law Review. While in law school, he interned with the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General in the environmental department, and served as a judicial intern for the judges of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Court. Following law school, Evan clerked for the Honorable F. Herbert Gruendel of the Connecticut Appellate Court.

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Photo of Dwight Merriam Dwight Merriam

Dwight H. Merriam founded Robinson+Cole’s Land Use Group in 1978. He represents land owners, developers, governments and individuals in land use matters, with a focus on defending governments in RLUIPA cases. Dwight is a Fellow and Past President of the American Institute of…

Dwight H. Merriam founded Robinson+Cole’s Land Use Group in 1978. He represents land owners, developers, governments and individuals in land use matters, with a focus on defending governments in RLUIPA cases. Dwight is a Fellow and Past President of the American Institute of Certified Planners, a former Director of the American Planning Association (APA), a former chair of APA’s Planning and Law Division, Immediate Past Chair of the American Bar Association’s Section of State and Local Government Law, Chair of the Institute of Local Government Studies at the Center for American and International Law, a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a member of the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute National Advisory Board, a Fellow of the Connecticut Bar Foundation, a Counselor of Real Estate, a member of the Anglo-American Real Property Institute, and a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers.

He teaches land use law at the University of Connecticut School of Law and at Vermont Law School and has published over 200 articles and eight books, including Inclusionary Zoning Moves Downtown, The Takings Issue, The Complete Guide to Zoning, and Eminent Domain Use and Abuse: Kelo in Context. He is the senior co-author of the leading casebook on land use law, Planning and Control of Land Development (Eighth Edition). Dwight has written and spoken widely on how to avoid RLUIPA claims and how to successfully defend against them in court. He is currently writing a book on the subject, RLUIPA DEFENSE, for the American Bar Association.

Dwight has been named to the Connecticut Super Lawyers® list in the area of Land Use Law since 2006, is one of the Top 50 Connecticut Super Lawyers in Connecticut, and is one of the Top 100 New England Super Lawyers (Super Lawyers is a registered trademark of Key Professional Media, Inc.). He received his B.A. (cum laude) from the University of Massachusetts, his Masters of Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina, where he was the graduation speaker in 2011, and his J.D. from Yale. He is a featured speaker at many land use seminars, and presents monthly audio land use seminars for the International Municipal Lawyers Association. Dwight has been cited in the national press from The New York Times to People magazine and has appeared on NBC’s The Today Show, MSNBC and public television.

Dwight also had a career in the Navy, serving for three tours in Vietnam aboard ship, then returning to be the Senior Advisor of the Naval ROTC Unit at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill where he taught Defense Administration and Military Management as an Assistant Professor in the undergraduate and graduate curriculum in Defense Administration and Military Management. He left active duty after seven years to attend law school, but continued on for 24 more years as a reserve Surface Warfare Officer with two major commands, including that of the reserve commanding officer of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. He retired as a Captain in 2009 after 31 years of service.

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