{"id":4594,"date":"2011-12-30T09:42:52","date_gmt":"2011-12-30T15:42:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/?p=4594"},"modified":"2015-03-13T16:54:46","modified_gmt":"2015-03-13T21:54:46","slug":"should-churches-be-able-to-build-anywhere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/2011\/12\/30\/should-churches-be-able-to-build-anywhere\/","title":{"rendered":"Should Churches Be Able to Build Anywhere?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\n

The current home of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Minnetonka, in Wayzata.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

According to a federal law passed in 2000, the answer is basically yes<\/em>. \u00a0To wit, a Unitarian Universalist church in Wayzata, Minnesota has won an out-of-court settlement to build a new church in the middle of a residential neighborhood<\/a>, against the objections of the City of Wayzata:<\/p>\n

In a church-state dispute with echoes across the country, a Wayzata congregation has won its battle to build a new church in a residential neighborhood.<\/p>\n

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Minnetonka will be allowed to tear down a house and build a church and parking lot in its place, according to a federal court-mediated settlement reached last week between the church and the city of Wayzata.<\/strong><\/p>\n

To underscore the church\u2019s victory, the settlement also requires the city and its insurer to pay the church $500,000 in damages and attorney\u2019s fees.<\/p>\n

The 2000 federal law under which the church sued Wayzata, which effectively allows religious projects to trump local zoning restrictions, is being tested in a growing number of communities around the country. Cases resulting in victories for congregations have cropped up in California, Maryland, Colorado and elsewhere.<\/p>\n

In its 2010 federal suit, the Unitarian church also charged Wayzata with violating its First Amendment rights to free speech and religious worship.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

My question is this: In this day and age, is it appropriate for churches to be built in residential neighborhoods?<\/strong> There is so much commercially-zoned property these days, it seems to me that churches should be built in those areas.<\/p>\n

In other words, isn\u2019t it more neighborly for a church to build in a commercial zone than in the middle of a residential neighborhood?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to a federal law passed in 2000, the answer is basically yes. \u00a0To wit, a Unitarian Universalist church in Wayzata, Minnesota has won an out-of-court settlement to build a new church in the middle of a residential neighborhood, against the objections of the City of Wayzata: In a church-state dispute with echoes across the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity-in-america","category-church","category-minnesota"],"yoast_head":"\nShould Churches Be Able to Build Anywhere?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"According to a federal law passed in 2000, the answer is basically yes. \u00a0To wit, a Unitarian Universalist church in Wayzata, Minnesota has won an\" \/>\n<meta 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