Maui County loses motion in church case
By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hale O Kaula Church has won the first round in a lawsuit that pits government against church and has attracted national attention to a zoning dispute in Maui County.
U.S. District Judge Samuel King on Monday dismissed the county's request to throw out a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department on behalf of the church.
The dispute between Maui County and the church arose when Hale O Kaula wanted to build a two-story worship center on farmland in Pukalani.
The Maui County Planning Commission denied the permit, agreeing with neighbors who said it would lead to increased traffic and noise, added burden to county services and a deterioration of the rural atmosphere.
The church, represented by the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and supported by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a conservative-backed public interest law firm based in Washington, argued that it has a constitutional right to free exercise of religion and that its rights to the use of the land are spelled out in the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000.
The law, known as RLUIPA, requires municipalities to show a compelling interest, such as public safety, before denying a religious group's zoning request.
Maui County, joined by the National League of Cities, the International Municipal Lawyers Association, the National Association of Towns and Townships, Alabama Preservation Alliance and three municipalities, challenged the constitutionality of RLUIPA, arguing that the U.S. government doesn't have the right to dictate land-use principles to municipalities.
Marci Hamilton, a nationally known attorney and law professor who represents the National League of Cities and other groups, argued during a hearing in December that RLUIPA was "fundamentally unfair" and that under it, religious land owners get special privileges.
King ruled Monday that RLUIPA is constitutional.
Becket spokesman Patrick Korten said King's decision is consistent with other federal court rulings.
Maui County's corporation counsel could not be reached for comment yesterday.
King's ruling allows the lawsuit to go forward in the courts, unless the judge decides otherwise in other motions still pending in the case.
King has indicated he expects the case to eventually end up at the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Justice Department lawsuit was the second filed in Hale O Kaula's bid to expand its worship center.
The church, affiliated with the Living Word Fellowship Bible-teaching ministry, sued after the Maui County Planning Commission in August 2001 denied its application for a special use permit for a second time. The permit is needed because the land is zoned for agriculture, and religious services are prohibited.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Reach Karen Blakeman at 535-2430 or kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.
