ADF helps Honolulu church evade eviction and $20k in fines
http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4398
ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND NEWS RELEASE
February 18, 2008 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020
Trouble averted for church in paradise
ADF attorneys help to remove threat of eviction and nearly $20,000 in fines
against Honolulu church
HONOLULU — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund have reached settlement with the city and county of Honolulu to prevent enforcement of a citation that threatened to evict a church from its facilities and levy nearly $20,000 in fines.
“Churches should not be singled out for discrimination by a city’s zoning restrictions. Federal law requires cities to treat church assemblies on equal terms to non-religious assemblies,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Byron J. Babione. “The city was wrong to cite the church while allowing other non-religious groups to conduct meetings. We’re pleased that the congregation will no longer face eviction or needless, burdensome fines.”
ADF-allied attorney Jim Hochberg, along with the assistance of ADF attorneys, intervened on behalf of Pastor Russell Stewart and The Ark Christian Center after the city ordered the church to stop meeting in violation of a land-use ordinance. The Honolulu land-use code forbids churches and other “meeting facilities” from locating within 1,000 feet of one another in light industrial zones. However, the city had applied the code against the church without citing nonreligious groups who were also meeting.
In July 2007, Stewart approached Hochberg for help. With the assistance of ADF attorneys Byron Babione and David Sheasby, Hochberg eventually secured an agreement from the city to fully dismiss the fines and allow The Ark to finish out its lease.
“The city did the right thing in agreeing to respect The Ark’s legal rights. The church can now focus on sharing the Gospel and ministering to the local community,” Hochberg said.
ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.