Agenda - Planning Commission - 04/07/2005

Home

t40 Page 2 -- February 25, 2005 First Amendment -- Church required to connect to township sewer Building ~2ithin distance covered by ordinance ' Citation: Second Baptist Church of Leechburg v. Gilpin Township, 3rd U.S. Circuit Cottrt of Appeals, No. 04-1434 (2004) The 3rd U.S. Circuit hasjttrisdiction over Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the Virgin [slands. PENNSYLVANIA (12/22/04) -- Since 1958, .the Second Baptist Church of Leechburg was located within Gilpin Township. Consequently, the Church's waste matters were under the authority of the Gilpin Sewage Authority. The Authority enacted an ordinance in 1984 requiring any principal build-' lng to connect with the sewage system if it was located within 150 feet of any sewer. tn 1999, the Authority notified the Church it had completed construction of a sewage extension project and the Church would now be required to "tap-in" because it was located 138 feet from the sewer line. The Church refused to comply because it deemed the associated costs to be too expensive. The township sued, and the court ruled in its favor. The Church appealed, arguing the ordinance violated its constitutional rights. DECISION: Affirmed. The ordinance did not violate the Church's constitutional rights. If a law was neutral and generally apphcabte, and burdened religious con- duct only incidentally, the Constitution offered no protection. In the present case, the Church conceded the ordinance was neutral. There were no facts supporting a claim either that the ordinance was not generally apphcable, or that it directly burdened the Church's religious conduct. The Church could' not show it was treated differently from similarly-situ- ated assemblies. Ultimately, there was no evidence supporting its claims. see also: Prater v. City of Burnside, 289 E3d 417 (2002). see also: Tenafly Eruv Associates Inc. v. Tenafly, 309 E3d 144 (2002): AdUlt Entertainment -- Ordinance bans simulated sex acts Business argues law proscribes certain movements of nude dancers Citation: Centerfolds lnc. v. Town of Berlin, U.S. District Court~br the District of Connecticut, No. 3:02cv2006 (WWE) (2004) CONNECTICUT (12/20/04) --The Town of Berlin passed an ordinance regulat- ing sexually-oriented businesses. The ordinance stated it was designed to curb the negative secondary ef- fects or' adult businesses, such as prostitution, communicable diseases, and © 2005 Quinlan Puolishing Group, Any reproduction is prohibited. For more informalion please call (617) 542-0048.