Zoned out: Texas ministry banned from city

The City of Bellmead, Texas, is facing a lawsuit after city officials allegedly zoned a local ministry out of existence.

The Church of the Open Door sponsors a ministry called "The House Where Jesus Shines," which provides substance abuse treatment, recovery services, and transitional assistance to recently paroled state inmates.
 
Last December, the ministry bought a vacant building in an industrial zoned section of Bellmead and made improvements in order to house its operations at the location. But when local residents complained about the intended use of the building, city officials allegedly passed a carefully crafted ordinance that not only kept the ministry from using its current building, but also made it impossible for The House Where Jesus Shines to locate anywhere in Bellmead.
 
Joe Infranco, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), says "churches should not be singled out for discriminatory treatment under zoning codes." And he contends that the city has "left no place within its borders for the ministry" and the people they serve.
 
ADF-allied attorneys filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas arguing that the Bellmead ordinance violates the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, the Fair Housing Act, and the U.S. Constitution.
 
"This new ordinance which effectively attempts to shut down the ministry is both ill-conceived and illegal," Infranco disputes. The attorney also notes the ministry followed all of the proper legal channels to secure occupancy in the new building.
 
The ministry also provides parolees – many are referred to them by the state prison system upon their release – with job training and employment assistance, services that help prevent them from becoming repeat offenders.
 
A copy of the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Waco Division, in House Where Jesus Shines v. City of Bellmead is available at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/HWJSComplaint.pdf.