Church's Application for Special Use Permit Denied

Key Point 7-06.2. Some courts permit local zoning commissions to restrict the location of churches in residential areas.

A New York court affirmed a city's decision to deny a church's application for a special use permit that would have allowed it to relocate to an area of the city that was zoned exclusively for industrial use. A church entered into a contract to purchase property in an area of town that was zoned for industrial uses. The contract contained a contingency clause specifying that the contract was subject to the city issuing a special use permit to the church within 60 days authorizing the use of the property as a church. The city council denied the church's application for a special use permit by a vote of 7 to 0 on the ground that the property was zoned for industrial rather than church purposes. The city zoning ordinance allowed churches in areas that were zoned residential, ...