Anchor Stone Christian Church v City of Santa Ana (C.D. Cal.)

On March 14, 2025, the Justice Department filed a statement of interest in Anchor Stone Christian Church v. City of Santa Ana, No. 8:25-cv-215, a lawsuit alleging that the City violated RLUIPA by enacting and enforcing zoning provisions that treat religious uses less favorably than secular places of assembly.  The lawsuit alleges that the City’s professional district allows, as of right, nonreligious assembly uses like museums and art galleries, but only allows religious assembly uses with the City’s discretionary approval of a conditional use permit (CUP).  The lawsuit alleges that Anchor Stone is a small Christian church of first-generation Chinese and Taiwanese Americans.  It obtained space within the City’s professional district and applied for a CUP to operate a Church but was denied by the City.  The Church filed a motion for preliminary injunction, seeking an order allowing it to worship at its property.  The Department’s statement of interest supports the Church’s argument that the zoning code, on its face, treats religious uses less favorably than nonreligious assembly uses, in violation of RLUIPA’s equal terms provision, and that the City has failed to justify this unequal treatment.

Press Release (3/17/2025)