Quick Poll

Is Memorial Day an 'off day' for you or a 'work day' with your business open?

Recent Polls

Blogs

Angela McRae

Tea with friends

Deberah Williams

Everyday Finesse

Lorrie Lynch

Who's News

Published Friday, April 15, 2011 in Local

Second church is suing Coweta County

By Sarah Fay Campbell

The Newnan Times-Herald

A second lawsuit has been filed against Coweta County over the denial of a conditional use permit for a church.

The Alliance Defense Fund has filed a federal lawsuit against Coweta on behalf of Holiness is the Way Ministries.

Holiness is the Way had applied for a conditional use permit to build a church, with a multi-purpose gym for youth activities, on 10 acres on Ga. Hwy. 16 East.

The original church plan, opposed by residents on Short Road, included a back entrance to the church from Short Road. After being heard by the Coweta County Board of Zoning Appeals, and before going to the Coweta County Board of Commissioners, the church redesigned the plan to do away with any connection to Short Road, which is located along the back of the property. The plat showed the rear of the church building being located approximately 650 feet from Short Road. That 650 feet included woods, a required buffer, and a 100-foot Georgia Power easement.

Despite that, and despite Pastor Curtis Bowles telling the commissioners before the vote that he would do away with the gym, the commissioners voted 3-1 to deny the permit.

Short Road residents had expressed concerns about criminal activity at the church gym and were worried about their safety.

"If this huge building is placed on [Highway] 16 and is, apparently, from what I gather, a drop-off place to dump kids, how is this going to affect crime in my neighborhood?" asked Short Road resident Patricia DeGross at the commission meeting. "You know children will not always follow the rules. It's just an increase in the propensity to loiter."

She said she gets home after dark, and "I have concerns for my safety. If people are allowed to come through the woods, they could very easily come onto my property and break in."

"I would be willing to put it somewhere else," Bowles said of the gym. The intent was to offer enrichment activities for youth. "That building we are putting in there is for the community. There isn't anything for them to do. They talk about teenagers getting in trouble... what are they going to do to help those teens?" Bowles asked.

Commissioner Paul Poole, then chairman of the commission, asked if there were anything else Bowles was willing to change.

"I think I'm about to change everything," Bowles said. "They were concerned about kids. If that is a big issue, we will just do away with it."

"I just want" the church there, he said.

Poole made the motion to deny the permit, and it passed 3-1, with Poole, Randolph Collins and Tim Lassetter voting for denial. Commissioner Rodney Brooks opposed the denial. Commissioner Al Smith was not in attendance at the meeting.

Another suit was filed in February by ADF, on behalf of All Souls Church of God in Christ, over the county's denial of a conditional use permit for that church.

Though both are small, "storefront" churches with a primarily black membership, All Souls had already purchased its property, located on Buddy West Road in northwest Coweta. Holiness is the Way had a contract on its property.

And while All Souls was attempting to place a church in a residential area, Holiness is the Way had planned to locate its church on a state highway near several industrial uses, including auto body shops and miniwarehouses, and Crossroads Church.

Another major difference between the two churches was in the recommendation of the county's Board of Zoning Appeals.

Typically, after the county's planning staff makes a recommendation for approval or denial and suggests possible conditions, a public hearing on a conditional use permit or variance is held before the BZA. The BZA then votes to recommend that the commissioners either approve or deny the request.

While the BZA had voted to recommend denial of the All Souls permit, the board had voted to recommend approval of the Holiness is the Way permit.

"ADF attorneys argue that the county's refusal is once again in violation of the U.S. Constitution and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, a federal law that prevents zoning officials from singling out churches for discriminatory treatment," said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley.

"Churches shouldn't be singled out for discrimination by a county's ongoing decisions," said Stanley. "This is especially true when the church has already received all the recommended approvals through the appropriate channels and no other legitimate reason for denial has been given.

"The county must learn to abide by the U.S. Constitution and federal law, which prohibits this kind of discriminatory treatment of churches."

In the suit, Stanley and attorney Kevin Theriot state that "there is no compelling government interest sufficient to justify denial of plaintiff's CUP application and defendant's zoning code... as applied to plaintiffs."

The suit further states that the county's denial is "not the least restrictive means to accomplish any permissible government purpose sought to be served by the zoning code" and that the denial and the zoning ordinance regarding churches is "not narrowly tailored, as required for restrictions on plaintiff's free exercise of religion."

The suit also alleges that the denial is a violation of the church's 14th Amendment right of equal protection under the law.

In the equal protection section, the suit alleges that "defendant treats other religious organizations, assemblies and institutions more favorably than it treats the Church based on religion, race, and speech."

It further states that the defendant "treats similarly-situated non-religious organizations, assemblies, and institutions more favorably than it treats the church."

It also claims that the county's denial and its zoning ordinance regarding churches are "irrational and unreasonable and impose irrational and unjustifiable restrictions on constitutionally-protected speech."

In another enumeration of due process violations, the suit says that the county's zoning code "does not give reasonable notice of where churches or other places of worship are permitted or prohibited."

It further states that the county's decision to deny the application was "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable because it bore no substantial relation to issues of public health, safety, welfare or morals," and that the church was denied due process "when the county ignored the recommendation of the county planner."

The suit also alleges violations of the First Amendment rights of peaceable assembly and freedom of religion.

According to federal court records, the All Souls case was submitted to Federal District Judge Thomas Trash on April 1. Discovery in the case ends on Sept. 2, and motions for summary judgment are due by Oct. 3.

Comment On This Story

Times-Herald.com does not necessarily agree with the comments posted below. Responsibility of comments rests solely with the writer. Comments posted in ALL CAPS will be deleted.

Submission of a comment does not guarantee publication. Comments will be posted by a moderator after being scanned for abusive language, relevance, etc. See our Comments FAQ for more details.