NEWARK - The Justice Department filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Bernards Township, alleging it violated federal law in its denial of the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge's plan to build a mosque.
The proposed site is located in a part of the township that, at the time of the society's zoning request, permitted the construction of places of worship.
"Bernards Township has treated the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge differently than other houses of worship," U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Paul J. Fishman said. "(Federal law) ensures that municipalities must treat religious land use applications like any other land use application .
"But here, township officials kept moving the goalposts by using ever-changing local requirements to effectively deny this religious community the same access as other faiths."
A federal discrimination lawsuit filed by the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge over the township's denial of a proposed mosque will go to mediation.
The society filed its application for preliminary and final site plan approval for a 4,252-square-foot mosque to be built on a 4.3-acre site on Church Street in April of 2012.
The application was denied after four years of hearings based on what the board said was a lack of information on parking, traffic plans and buffer zones bordering the site's neighborhoods. The society filed a federal lawsuit against the township, its Township Committee and planning board in March.
The township, in a statement released Tuesday, said it "maintains that the Planning Board denial was based on legitimate land use and safety concerns which plaintiffs refused, and to this day, refuse to address. To that point, the planning board presented plaintiffs an opportunity for reconsideration to address the land use issues early on, and plaintiffs have shown no interest in complying."
In its statement, the township claims a professional relationship exists between the head of the society and one of the lead Justice Department investigators, going on to state the investigation "was not conducted in an objective manner designed to seek the truth, but rather only to support and bolster the ongoing (Islamic Society) civil lawsuit."
The Justice Department's complaint, filed in U.S. - Bernards Township's denial of approval for the mosque discriminated against the Islamic Society based on its religion and the religion of its members
- applied standards and procedures on the society that it had not applied to other religious and non-religious assemblies in the past
- and, imposed a substantial burden on the society's religious exercise.
"Today's filing by the Department of Justice comes after a lengthy investigation that started in March," said Mohammad Ali Chaudry, president of the society. "It addresses why Bernards Township denied our mosque application and it eviscerates the township's claim that the denial was based on legitimate land use issues.
"Our community deserves its own place to pray and we will ensure we get it by standing up for our constitutional rights in court."
Chaudry is a former mayor, member of the committee and board of education member.
The complaint also alleges that the township violated Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, which prohibits religious discrimination and protects against unjustified burdens on religious exercise, by amending its zoning ordinance in a manner that imposes unreasonable limitations on all religious assemblies.
"Sixteen years ago, Congress passed RLUIPA unanimously - with diverse religious and ideological support - because it recognized the fundamental right of all religious communities to build places of worship free from discrimination," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "No congregation or community should ever face unlawful barriers to practicing their religion and observing their faith."
The act contains multiple provisions prohibiting religious discrimination and protecting against unjustified burdens on religious exercise.
"Mosque application denials by local zoning and planning boards are at epidemic levels around the country," said Adeel Mangi of New York City-based Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, lead counsel for Islamic Society and Chaudry. "Here, (the society's) mosque was a permitted use under the township's zoning ordinance and (the society) bent over backwards to try and secure an approval, but was denied anyway.
"(The society's) litigation is about defending America's core values, including equal protection under law and freedom of religion, and we welcome the participation of the Department of Justice."
The township said in its statement that the Justice Department offered to not file the complaint if Bernards agreed to approve the mosque, a move "designed to coerce the township to settle in a manner which does not address proper land use planning."
http://www.nj.com/somerset/index.ssf/2016/11/justice_dept_files_suit_against_town_over_mosque_d.html
No comments:
Post a Comment