turkey-float

Many view Thanksgiving week as a time for reflection and gratitude.  Whether looking forward to the next turkey or reminiscing about the last, take some time for our semi-regular summary of news items involving local government, religion, and land use—the round-up:

  • The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, in Trapp v. Commissioner of the Department of Corrections, SJC-11863, unanimously held that closure of the sweat lodge at the Souza-Baranowski “Supermax” Correctional Center (SBCC) in Shirley, Massachusetts violates prisoners’ rights under RLUIPA. A previous guest post by Joseph N. Schneiderman regarding oral argument in the case is available here.  A more detailed post on the decision will follow.  The Boston Globe also reported on this case.
  • The Concord Monitor reports that Pembroke New Hampshire’s zoning board reversed its September denial to Next Level Church and is now allowing the Church to locate within a commercial zone. The Board Chairman cited RLUIPA’s equal terms and nondiscrimination provisions as the reasons for the reversal.
  • The Concord Monitor also reports that the attorney representing Next Level Church plans to file a separate lawsuit on December 1 against Pembroke in an unrelated RLUIPA matter. Earlier this fall, the Concord Monitor reported on the efforts of the Hillside Baptist Church, in collaboration with “Signs For Jesus,” to erect an 8 by 4 foot electronic sign along Route 3 in Pembroke, in a zone that where electronic signs are prohibited.  Pembroke Academy, located within the same zoning district but exempt for municipal land use regulation, erected an electronic sign “against the wishes of the town.”  Citing RLUIPA, the Church’s attorney argues that it is unlawful to treat the Academy more favorably than the church.
  • Time reports that after an initial denial, a Massachusetts woman was granted a religious exemption, as a member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, to wear a colander on her head in her driver’s license photo.
  • It’s Nativity Scene-Controversy Season again! BreitBart reports that the Freedom from Religion Foundation (“FFRF”) will erect a Bill of Rights Nativity scene, featuring George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Lady Liberty with the Bill of Rights in a manger at the Franklin County, Indiana Courthouse. Last year, we featured a lawsuit filed by FFRF against the County challenging the display of a “traditional” nativity scene on the Courthouse lawn: “Tis The Season For Nativity Scenes & Satanic Displays: Happy Holidays from RLUIPA Defense..”
  • The Arizona Daily Star reports that the Ninth Circuit heard argument in Mesquite Grove Chapel v. Pima County Bd of Adjustment, where the plaintiffs appealed the District Court’s grant of summary judgment to Pima County. The plaintiffs claim that the District Court improperly interpreted RLUIPA’s substantial burden provision to require they prove that no site was available in the County for their proposed use.  The parties also dispute whether the plaintiffs’ use was primarily religious or primarily an event venue, holding up to 75 weddings a year.  A video recording of argument before the Ninth Circuit is available here.
Print:
Email this postTweet this postLike this postShare this post on LinkedIn
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.

Read more about Evan Seeman
Show more Show less
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.

Show more Show less
Photo of John Peloso John Peloso

John Peloso, a partner in the firm’s Real Estate Litigation Group, is a trial lawyer who represents companies, municipalities, and individuals in a wide range of matters. At the administrative, trial, and appellate levels, John counsels clients and litigates real property disputes, including…

John Peloso, a partner in the firm’s Real Estate Litigation Group, is a trial lawyer who represents companies, municipalities, and individuals in a wide range of matters. At the administrative, trial, and appellate levels, John counsels clients and litigates real property disputes, including real estate, land use, environmental, and tax matters, including RLUIPA and eminent domain matters.

In the area of real estate litigation, John represents institutional, municipal, and individual clients in disputes involving title, zoning, wetlands, land use, RLUIPA, eminent domain, and other real property rights. He also represents clients in all aspects of commercial lease and other real estate transactional disputes. In the area of real property tax litigation, he represents institutional and individual clients in proceedings at the regulatory, administrative, and trial levels. In this regard, he has dealt with specialized issues involving among other things, the valuation of high-tech software, wireless communications equipment, contingency fee tax audits, special use properties, and the impact of environmental conditions on the valuation of real property.

Prior to joining Robinson+Cole, John was a member of the litigation department at White & Case LLP in New York City, where he concentrated his practice in complex commercial, property and securities litigation.

Read more about John Peloso
Show more Show less
Related Posts
Cannabis
RLUIPA Round-Up
June 12, 2017
Cowboy Weathervane_Pai Shih_72dpi_crop
RLUIPA Round Up
April 20, 2017
cyber monday
RLUIPA Round-Up: Happy Cyber Monday
November 28, 2016