On November 19, 2008, jurors decided Wednesday that Boulder County Commissioners violated federal law when in 2004 they refused to allow a Rocky Mountain Christian Church (“RMCC”) a request to expand on its property at 95th Street & Niwot Road in Boulder County, Colorado.
Jurors decided that the Commissioners violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”) because they:
1. did not treat the church equally to a non-religious institution;
2. placed a substantial burden on the church’s practice of religion;and
3. put an unreasonable limitation on that practice.
US Judge Robert Blackburn still needs to decide if RMCC can expand on its property. Back in 2004, RMCC requested approval to double its facility size by building an education building, a chapel, a gymnasium, and a gallery. This expansion was proposed to add 132,000 square feet to the church’s existing 106,000-square-foot campus.
From Alan Ahlgrim, Lead Pastor at RMCC “… we won 100% of what we were most concerned about and in addition we anticipate we will recover every dime of the litigation costs the church has incurred.”
“We won the central issue that brought us to the court house. This has been a long and complex case and we respect the verdict of the jury and we are very grateful that they concluded that the county actions were not fair. We are very, very happy with the decision since it vindicated the church…”
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a Washington-based law firm dedicated to the free expression of religion, supported Rocky Mountain Christian Church in its lawsuit. After the verdict was announced, the Becket Fund issued a press release calling the decision “a major victory” for the church. “This is a win not just for Rocky Mountain Christian Church, but for every house of worship across the country. What this decision says, loud and clear, is that religious institutions need to be treated the same as non-religious institutions — no better but also no worse,” Eric Rassbach, national litigation director of the Becket Fund, said in the news release.