Castle Rock settles long-running legal dispute with a church over allowing RVs as homeless shelters
A yearslong legal battle between Castle Rock and a church that allows homeless people to park recreational vehicles in its lot ended in a final settlement this month with the town agreeing to cover of the church s legal fees As part of the agreement s terms Castle Rock will recognize the Rock Church s ability to continue operating its on-site temporary shelter ministry that is the RVs parked out back and to use its building for urgency shelter in partnership with the Red Cross The town acknowledges the Rock s invaluable services to the Castle Rock region through its longstanding e orts to provide patronage for those members of our area largest part in need the town and the church stated in a joint declaration issued Friday The Rock acknowledges its responsibilities as a good neighbor and looks forward to working in partnership with the town while providing those services Their relationship wasn t invariably this friendly The dispute between the town and church first arose in when Castle Rock s zoning manager sent the church a notice of violation asserting that town code did not allow storage or residency in campers on the property That was followed up with a letter from the town attorney stating that the church located in the northwest corner of The Meadows neighborhood remained in violation of zoning code Last year the Rock Church sued Castle Rock claiming the town was violating the Religious Land Use and Institutional Persons Act The federal law protects individuals houses of worship and other religious institutions from discrimination in zoning and landmarking laws as described by the U S Department of Justice The Rock Church won its suit last summer when a federal judge ruled in its favor The judge issued a preliminary injunction to stop the Douglas County town from using its land-use authority to stop the church from providing the makeshift shelters Ryan Gardner senior counsel with the First Liberty Institute a Plano Texas-based law firm that focuses on religious liberty cases commented the Rock has a serious sincere religious belief as to how they should serve their brothers and sisters He mentioned the federal law was at the heart of the judge s ruling in favor of his client last July RLUIPA acts as a sort of super-zoning law Gardner revealed I would encourage governments across Colorado and the country to partner with churches to address issues like homelessness and food shortages Related Articles Judge rules in Castle Rock church s favor in fight with town over shelter for homeless families in parking lot Church files suit against Castle Rock challenging town s ban on sheltering homeless people in RVs Under the terms of the settlement the Rock Church will be allowed to park up to seven RVs in its lot to act as temporary shelters Castle Rock can install additional fencing or landscaping to partially screen the location of the vehicles from the surrounding neighborhood A town spokesperson for Castle Rock referred to the joint report from the town and church for comment Gardner stated the Rock s lead pastor Mike Polhemus was unavailable to comment In the joint comment the church and the town explained the agreement balances the Rock s religious free-exercise rights with the town s inhabitants interest in enforcing land use regulations and protecting the general welfare population strength and safety Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter
