Goodwill Church Fights for Fair Zoning: A Case Study

Goodwill Church had a longstanding main location in Montgomery, New York. With a growing congregation, it opened two additional campuses in New Paltz and Port Jervis. Initially, the Port Jervis location operated out of a small rented space, available only on Sunday mornings. Seeking a permanent and more appropriate space in the City’s downtown area, the Church identified a property in Port Jervis’s Central Business District, where places of worship were permitted as of right.

As Goodwill Church prepared to close on the property in November 2015, the city passed a law removing places of worship as permitted uses in the Central Business District and the City’s Service Commercial District. The Church argued that the law was passed out of concern that the presence of the Goodwill Church or other churches could discourage commercial development, particularly establishments serving liquor due to state laws regulating the proximity of liquor-serving establishments to places of worship and schools.

On November 21, 2016, a suit was filed to enforce compliance with the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). The suit alleged that the zoning change imposed a "substantial burden" on the religious exercise of Goodwill Church and that the city violated RLUIPA Section 2(b)(1), which requires religious assemblies to be treated at least as well as nonreligious assemblies. The commercial zones permit fraternal organizations and nonprofit membership clubs, preschools, day-care centers, and nursery schools, while excluding churches.

The court ordered the city to amend its zoning laws and regulations to repeal the ban on the use of property for places of worship in the two zoning districts at issue and to treat religious assemblies or institutions equally with nonreligious assemblies or institutions. The consent decree also requires the city to provide training on the requirements of RLUIPA to certain city officials and officers, among other requirements.

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