Ruling Goes Against ‘Outdoor’ Church

Members of a small Huntington Beach congregation on Monday failed to persuade a federal judge to lift a city order that they say has forced them to worship in a courtyard outside their church.

For more than two years, Pastor Andrew Derek Anunciation and the tiny congregation of Praise Christian Center have been locked in a dispute with City Hall. Building officials will not allow them to gather in a large former warehouse they have rented until there are sprinklers, fire alarms and other improvements.

Praise Christian, which filed a federal suit against the city in October, says the city is violating its members’ rights to religious freedom.

On Monday its attorneys argued for a preliminary injunction that would have allowed the church to hold services indoors until a trial. But in questioning attorneys for the church, U.S. District Judge Gary L. Taylor suggested that he wondered if the case was more a zoning dispute than a federal matter.

“Churches have to abide by fire codes, safety and other regulations,” Taylor said to Praise Christian’s attorneys. Robert Tyler, an attorney from the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund, a legal advocacy group representing the church, told Taylor the city had violated due process rights and used “unbridled discretion” to discriminate against the church.

As an example, Tyler cited a city demand for road improvements costing $45,000. Although the city recently reduced that amount to $8,000, it still was evidence of bias, Tyler argued, because the church wants to use only a small portion of a former warehouse and should not be assessed such a substantial sum, especially if it’s only a tenant.

But Taylor was skeptical. “Then your contest is over the calculation of ... the road fee and not a constitutional question,” Taylor said.

Praise Christian’s battle with the city is part of a larger conflict. More than three dozen mega-churches, colleges and synagogues in the state are fighting government regulations and zoning laws that they say violate the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000. The act is designed to give churches, including small ones such as Praise Christian, a tool for avoiding many government restrictions.

The church’s lawsuit, which is based on that law, will continue, but Taylor denied the request for an injunction that would have allowed it to meet indoors.

After the hearing, Assistant City Atty. Scott Field said the city was not forcing Praise Christian to hold services outdoors.

“Before they moved to the warehouse they were holding services at Edison Community Center, one of the city’s facilities. We have churches meeting at other city facilities, in schools and at other churches. They have other options,” Field said.