An Indiana trial court recently denied a church camp’s challenge to a nearby dairy farm’s operations (download order here). In one of the first lawsuits filed under Indiana’s relatively new Religious Freedom Restoration Act (Ind. Code §§ 34-13-9-1 to -11), the Hoosier Environmental Council filed a complaint (download here) on behalf of a children’s church camp in eastern Indiana. The complaint alleged that the Rush County Board of Zoning Appeals substantially burdened the House of Prayer Ministries’ exercise of religion by granting a special exception to local zoning ordinances allowing Milco Dairy to construct and operate a concentrated animal feeding operation, known as a CAFO. After the trial court ruled in the dairy’s favor, the Hoosier Environmental Council filed the necessary documents to initiate an appeal. Its first brief will be due in about thirty days.
The Fayette Circuit Court concluded that the church camp failed to present any evidence on any burden of on religion and did not cite to any caselaw supporting its position. On the state constitutional claim, the court explained that the case cited involved a taking, while here “the government action left the … property untouched.” The court rejected the camp’s claims under the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) and Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). RLUIPA did not apply because the camp was not subject to a “land use regulation.”
The camp’s complete absence of evidence demonstrating a substantial burden resulting from constructing the dairy, which will be half a mile away. For example, the camp “did not introduce evidence its members would leave, children would avoid the camp, or that the camp could not exist with a dairy farm nearby.” The failure was “dispositive of [the] religious liberty claims.” On the other hand, the dairy and the zoning board both introduced evidence that the county “has a compelling government interest in ordered land development, tax revenues, increased job creation, and the general welfare of the County, and that the least restrictive means were used since no restrictions were imposed on the [camp’s] land, but five limiting conditions were imposed on [the dairy’s] special exception.” The court also emphasized that “a county’s interest in economic factors is an important considerations.”
The camp also argued it should be treated equally with schools, as required by RLUIPA. The court rejected this claim because both the ordinance and the special exception were facially neutral and were not selectively enforced against religious entities.
House of Prayer Ministries operates Harvest Christian Camp. The camp’s mission is “to provide a safe, health, and Christian rural setting for thousands of children and teens to be educated, enriched spiritually and enhanced by the outdoors.” According to the complaint, the CAFO will hold 1,400 dairy cows and three outdoor waste lagoons within a half mile and upwind of the camp.
The complaint also alleges violations of Indiana and federal constitutional equal-protection provisions, religious protections, and privileges and immunities protections, among other claims.
Hoosier Environmental Council earlier sought administrative review of the Board of Zoning Appeals decision (download petition here).
The Indiana Lawyer reported on the initiation of the lawsuit here.
Hoosier Environmental Council has a press release about its complaint here.
Law Meets Gospel reported on the lawsuit when it began here.