Texas town hinders church ministry from helping parolees
http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4483
ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND NEWS RELEASE
April 28, 2008 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom
Texas town hinders church ministry
from helping parolees
ADF-allied attorney files suit after city of Bellmead changes zoning
to stop church from serving former inmates
“Churches should not be singled out for discrimination by a city’s zoning restrictions,” said ADF-allied attorney Dan Dalton of Tomkiw Dalton, PLC, in Royal Oak, Mich. “In this case, city officials violated federal law when they chose to pass this discriminatory ordinance.”
HWJS is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) ministry with the mission of providing faith-based transitional care, substance-abuse treatment, and recovery services to 45 recently released male paroled inmates. The ministry also provides residents with job training and assistance in locating employment.
In December 2007, HWJS purchased a vacant building in a Bellmead industrial zone for its services. The ministry’s proposed use of the property was permitted in the zone, and so the ministry conducted inspections and made improvements necessary to secure occupancy. However, after the city manager reported that some neighbors complained about the prospect of the ministry using the new property, city officials passed a carefully tailored ordinance Jan. 15 that prohibits HWJS from operating not just within the zone, but anywhere within the city.
“The House Where Jesus Shines followed all of the proper legal channels in order to secure occupancy in the new building,” said ADF Senior Counsel Joe Infranco. “The city has given the ministry no place within its borders to serve the people who need its help, many of which are referred to them by the state. The new ordinance is both ill-conceived and illegal.”
A copy of the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Waco Division, in House Where Jesus Shines v. City of Bellmead is available at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/HWJSComplaint.pdf. The lawsuit asserts that the Bellmead ordinance violates the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, the Fair Housing Act, and the U.S. Constitution.
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