PAMELA K. CHEN, District Judge:
Plaintiff, The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York (the "Diocese") asserts claims against Defendants, The Incorporated Village of Old Westbury (the "Village"), its Board of Trustees, and various individual Village trustees and officials, challenging the Village's imposition of restrictions, pursuant to its "Places of Worship" zoning law (the "POW Law"), on a proposed Diocese cemetery. The Diocese alleges that the POW Law and Defendants' conduct relating to its enforcement violate the Religious Land Use & Institutionalized Persons Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc et seq. ("RLUIPA"), 42 U.S.C. § 1983 ("Section 1983"), the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.
Defendants move for summary judgment on all of the Diocese's claims on various grounds. Plaintiff moves for partial summary judgment solely on the basis that the POW Law is facially unconstitutional. Because the Court finds that the POW Law is facially constitutional, the Diocese's motion is denied, and Defendants' motion with respect to that claim is granted. The Court also grants Defendants' motion with respect to Plaintiff's RLUIPA equal terms claim and its Equal Protection claim
The Diocese is a non-profit religious corporation organized under the laws of the State of New York. (Def. 56.1
The Village Board of Trustees ("Board") is the Village's legislative and governing body, and consists of five Trustees, one of whom, Defendant Trustee Fred Carillo, is designated as the Mayor of the Village. (Id. ¶ 4.) Defendant Trustees Carillo, Harvey Blau, Harvey Simpson, Steven Greenberg
In 1975, New York State enacted the State Environmental Quality Review Act ("SEQRA"), which is codified in Article 8 of the New York Environmental Conservation Law ("ECL"). (Id. ¶ 20.) The SEQRA regulations contain an elaborate set of procedures that municipalities must comply with when evaluating the environmental impacts of a proposed development project. 6 NYCRR §§ 617.4, 617.5. One of the first steps in the SEQRA process is for the municipality to classify the project under SEQRA. (Def. 56.1 ¶ 20.) A project may fall into one of the following three categories: (1) Type I actions, which consist of actions that the Department of Environmental Conservation ("DEC") has determined are more likely to have significant adverse environmental impacts; (2) Type II actions, which consist of actions that the DEC has determined do not have a significant environmental impact; or (3) Unlisted actions, which are actions that are neither Type I or Type II actions. 6 NYCRR §§ 617.4, 617.5.
Since there can be more than one government agency with jurisdiction over a project, SEQRA contains a detailed set of procedures by which a municipality can establish itself as the "lead agency" for purposes of conducting the environmental impact review of the project. Id. § 617.6. Once a lead agency has been established, it renders a "determination of significance" for the project, which is the basis for the action classification described above. (Def. 56.1 ¶ 24.)
The initial SEQRA tool used to make a "determination of significance" is the Environmental Assessment Form ("EAF")
On or about January 3, 1994, the Diocese submitted an EAF to the Village and an application to change applicable zoning to permit the Diocese to develop a cemetery, to be known as the Queen of Peace Cemetery ("QOP"), on approximately 97 acres in the Village (the "Property") that the Diocese had contracted to buy. (Def. 56.1 ¶ 55.) On March 21, 1995, the Diocese became the fee owner of the Property. (Id. ¶ 57.) On or about April 10, 1995, the Diocese formally retained Grever & Ward, Inc. ("Ward") to advise it on the development of its property for use as a cemetery. (Pl. 56.1 ¶ 58.) On July 10, 1995, Ward provided the Diocese with a Master General Plan that depicted the use of 86 of the 97.3 acres as a cemetery. (Id. ¶ 61.)
On October 17, 1995, the Village Planner, David J. Portman of Frederick P. Clark Associates, Inc. ("FPC") issued a report that the Diocese's proposed development of QOP constituted a commercial enterprise or business use of property that was inconsistent with the Village's comprehensive plan. (ASC
On April 17, 1996, the Diocese commenced an action in Suffolk County Supreme Court ("State Court Action") against the Village and its Board based on eleven causes of action, including due process violations, exclusionary zoning claims, a free exercise violation, discrimination, denial of equal protection, and failure to accommodate a religious use. (Def. 56.1 ¶ 67.) On September 16, 1996, the court denied the Diocese's claim for injunctive relief. (Id. ¶ 68.) The court also denied both parties' motions for summary judgment, finding that the issue of whether the Diocese's proposed cemetery was a religious use presented a factual question to be resolved at trial. (Id. ¶ 69.)
On December 28, 1998, the Second Department affirmed the trial court's decision
Less than three months later, on March 19, 2001, the Board enacted a series of comprehensive zoning amendments ("2001 Amendments"), including the POW Law, codified as Code § 216-111.2. (Pl. 56.1 ¶ 81.) The POW Law and the history of its enactment are discussed infra.
On April 15, 2002, the Appellate Division upheld the trial court's conclusion regarding a cemetery being a "religious use" of property, but found that the "trial court erred in directing the defendant Board ... to issue a special permit to the Diocese upon remittitur." (Pl. 56.1 ¶ 82.) The Appellate Division remitted the matter to the Board to determine the environmental impact of the Diocese's proposed development of QOP "including examination under SEQRA of the effect of any possible mitigating measures." (Id.) The court further directed that "[a] determination on the plaintiffs' application shall be consistent with the preferential treatment afforded the religious use of this property." (Id.)
In the mid-1990s, the Village identified a rapid increase in special permit applications for institutional uses, specifically places of worship and private schools. (Def. 56.1 ¶¶ 43, 188.) Defendants claim that the Village was concerned about the adverse impacts that could result from the increasing number of these applications, including increasing levels of traffic, noise, air quality, water quantity and quality, and visual impact. (Id. ¶ 189.) In 1999, the Village issued a moratorium on applications for special permits so that it could examine whether amendments were needed to its zoning code, and hired professional planning consultants to advise it through the process.
Defendants claim that during the past two decades, the Village developed certain standards for residential uses that it believed would be consistent with the Village's character, but had not done so for institutional uses. (Def. 56.1 ¶ 191.) Defendants assert that amendments to its zoning code were necessary to prevent "new non-residential uses [from developing] at a greater density than would be permitted for residential uses, thereby having a potentially significant adverse impact on the land, the environment and the village." (Id. ¶ 192.) Accordingly, the Village amended its zoning code in 2001 to impose development controls specifically for private schools and places of worship. (Id.) Defendants contend that relocating educational and places of worship to appropriate areas would help these institutions to "better function [and] minimize public health and safety risks, particularly to residential communities, and [would] help the Village to achieve its long range planning goal of preserving its low — density, rural, residential character." (Id. ¶ 193.)
The POW Law, enacted by the Village on March 19, 2001, permits places of worship in certain residential districts "as a special exception, upon approval of the Village Board of Trustees," and are "subject to [] conditions," including:
(Ex. 4 to ASC.)
On July 2, 2004, the Diocese filed a special permit and preliminary subdivision plan application for the QOP development. (Def. 56.1 ¶ 89.) On March 10, 2005, the Diocese submitted a subdivision application to the Village, and on the same day submitted a SEQRA, Part I EAF to the Board. (Id. ¶ 91.) Part I EAF described the QOP proposal as follows:
(Pl. 56.1 ¶ 92.)
On May 16, 2005, with respect to the Diocese's application, the Board declared itself lead agency under SEQRA. (Pl. 56.1 ¶ 96.) On July 8, 2005, the Diocese filed a special use exception permit application with the Board.
On February 7, 2006, the Diocese submitted a Draft Scope
On June 15, 2007, FPC provided comments to the Board regarding planning, zoning, and environmental issues raised by the DEIS, and recommended that the Village retain a hydrogeologist to review the Diocese's groundwater reports and analyses. (Def. 56.1 ¶ 122.) FPC also disagreed with the Diocese's conclusion that psychological impacts were not a type of human health impact that should be addressed during SEQRA review. (Id. ¶ 123.) However, after a meeting between the Diocese and Village representatives, FPC and the Village no longer requested that the Diocese address the psychological impacts of its proposal. (Id. ¶ 124.)
On July 5, 2007, Leggette, Brashears & Graham, Inc. ("LBG"), which was retained by the Village to advise it regarding the groundwater issues involved in the SEQRA process, provided comments regarding the potential impact of the proposal on wetland and groundwater resources. (Id. ¶ 126.) LBG disagreed with the Diocese's conclusions that groundwater data from other Diocese's cemeteries indicated only minor impacts from fertilizer used in cemeteries and that such use had no impact on underlying groundwater quality. (Id.)
On January 2, 2008, the Diocese submitted a revised DEIS. (Id. ¶ 131.) According to Defendants, on January 23, 2008, FPC submitted its comments on the revised DEIS, noting that the Diocese had not accepted a number of suggested changes to various sections of the initial version of its DEIS, including the elimination of one of the subdivision lots due to steep slopes, inclusion of a 75-foot buffer around the Property's pond, and increasing the size of the buffer along the northern border of the cemetery portion of the Property from 100 feet to 150 feet. (Id. ¶ 139.) On February 11, 2008, LBG submitted its comments on the groundwater aspects of the January 2008 revised DEIS, stating, inter alia, that the Diocese's existing cemetery operations were contributing to nitrate levels. (Id. ¶ 139.) In addition, LBG commented that the Diocese should conduct base-line groundwater sampling and testing at its existing cemetery operations, and if ground water was determined to be negatively impacted by cemetery operations, the DEIS should identify and evaluate measures that could be implemented to mitigate these deleterious effects. (Ex. 94 to Def. Mem. at 13-14)
On May 7, 2008, the Diocese submitted further revisions to the DEIS. (Def. 56.1 ¶ 140.) On July 30, 2008, the New York Department of Transportation ("NYSDOT") rejected the Diocese's Jericho Turnpike access plan, which was part of the Diocese's DEIS. (Id. ¶ 142.) On August 1, 2008, FPC issued comments regarding its review of the traffic section of the DEIS, questioning whether the NYSDOT would accept either scenario set forth in the DEIS regarding traffic entering and exiting from the Property to and from Jericho Turnpike. (Id. ¶ 145.) On October 1, 2008, the NYSDOT reversed itself and approved the Diocese's automobile access plan. (Id. ¶ 152.)
According to Defendants, on August 12, 2008, LBG submitted its comments regarding the groundwater section of the DEIS including, among others, (1) that the Diocese must provide an Irrigation Management Plan ("IMP") in the FEIS because excessive irrigation would result in increased nitrate levels in the groundwater
On August 13, 2008, FPC submitted comments regarding the non-traffic-related portions of the DEIS, including comments regarding the Diocese's continued non-compliance with standards for buffers along the northern border of the cemetery as designed, unauthorized roadways within buffer areas, the Diocese's continued refusal to erect 75-foot buffers around the existing pond, and FPC's continued insistence that steep slopes at the cemetery would create an environmental risk, unless two of the designated subdivision lots were combined into one. (Id. ¶ 147.)
On July 1, 2009, the Diocese submitted its draft FEIS ("DFEIS"). (Id. ¶ 159.) On July 13, 2009, the Diocese notified the Village that it had not been provided a copy of the FPC's August 13, 2008 comments prior to the Diocese's submission of the DFEIS. (Pl. 56.1 ¶ 161.) As a result, the Diocese indicated it had no obligation to respond to the comments contained in the August 13, 2008 FPC comments, noting that its DFEIS responded to the FPC comments to the extent required by law. (Id.) Defendants claim that the belated transmittal of the FPC's August 13, 2008 comments was unintentional. (Def. 56.1 ¶ 164.)
On August 17, 2009, during the regularly scheduled Board hearing, FPC requested that it be given until the Board's October 2009 meeting to review the DFEIS. (Id ¶ 167.) According to Defendants, the Board and FPC were also waiting for the results of groundwater testing for nitrates at the Property. (Id.) The Board extended the time for FPC to present its comments regarding the DFEIS until the October 2009 Board meeting. (Id.) On August 24, 2009, LGB submitted comments on the Diocese's July, 2009 Ground-Water Investigation Report for Holy Rood Cemetery.
On August 27, 2009, the Diocese's counsel, Eric Robinson, Esq., notified the Village that that it viewed the Village's decision to grant an extension of time to FPC and LGB to complete its review of the DFEIS as an unnecessary, and illegal, delay in acting on the Diocese's application.
On November 30, 2009, the Diocese commenced this lawsuit. (Id. ¶ 181.) On June 21, 2010, the Board adopted the Final Resolution Approving Diocese Application with conditions and exceptions (the "Resolution"). (Id. ¶ 184.) As a modification of the POW's Law's requirements, the Resolution imposes, inter alia, the following conditions for the QOP site:
(ASC ¶ 121; Dkt. 77-21.) The Resolution also requires the Diocese to seek renewal of its authorization to develop and operate QOP every five years, at which time the Village could modify conditions for the renewal or deny authorization altogether. (Id.)
Due to its ongoing disagreement with the restrictions imposed by the Resolution, the Diocese has not broken ground on QOP to this day.
The Diocese filed this action on or about November 30, 2009. (Def. 56.1 ¶ 7.) On or about February 14, 2011, the Honorable Denis R. Hurley issued a Memorandum and Order (Dkt. 60) regarding Defendants' Motion to Dismiss. (Id. ¶ 8.) Judge Hurley ordered, inter alia, that "(a)ll of the Diocese claims against the Village Defendants based upon conduct occurring prior to and during the State Court Action are dismissed in their entirety." (Id. ¶ 9.) The Diocese filed a motion to amend its Complaint on July 27, 2011. (Id. ¶ 10.) Judge Hurley partially granted and denied the Diocese's motion. (Id. ¶ 11.) The Diocese filed its Amended and Supplemental Complaint on May 7, 2012. The Village Defendants filed their Answer and Special Defenses on June 1, 2012, and their Amended Answer on June 22, 2012. (Id. ¶ 12.)
The standard for summary judgment is well-established. Summary judgment may be granted only if the submissions of the parties taken together "show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." FRCP 56(c); see Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 251-252, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). "The moving party bears the burden of establishing the absence of any genuine issue of material fact," Zalaski v. City of Bridgeport Police Dep't, 613 F.3d 336, 340 (2d Cir.2010); see Salahuddin v. Goord, 467 F.3d 263, 272-73 (2d Cir.2006), after which the burden shifts to the nonmoving party to "come forward with specific evidence demonstrating the existence of a genuine dispute of material fact." Brown v. Eli Lilly & Co., 654 F.3d 347, 358 (2d Cir.2011); see also F.D.I.C. v. Great American Ins. Co., 607 F.3d 288, 292 (2d Cir.2010). A dispute of fact is "genuine" if "the [record] evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505.
The nonmoving party can only defeat summary judgment "by coming forward with evidence that would be sufficient, if all reasonable inferences were drawn in [its] favor, to establish the existence of" a factual question that must be resolved at trial. Spinelli v. City of N.Y., 579 F.3d 160, 167 (2d Cir.2009) (internal quotations and citations omitted); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). "The mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the [non-movant's] position will be insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the [non-movant]." Hayut v. State Univ. of N.Y., 352 F.3d 733, 743 (2d Cir.2003) (alterations in original); see also Lyons v. Lancer Ins. Co., 681 F.3d 50, 56-57 (2d Cir.2012); Jeffreys v. City of N.Y., 426 F.3d 549, 554 (2d Cir.2005). The nonmoving party cannot avoid summary judgment simply by relying "on conclusory allegations or unsubstantiated speculation," Jeffreys, 426 F.3d at 554 (quotations and citations omitted); see also DeFabio v. East Hampton Union Free Sch. Dist., 623 F.3d 71, 81 (2d Cir.2010); and must offer "some hard evidence showing that its version of the events is not wholly fanciful." Miner v. Clinton Cnty., 541 F.3d 464, 471 (2d Cir.2008). In determining whether a genuine issue of fact exists, the court must resolve all ambiguities and draw all reasonable inferences against the moving party. Major League Baseball Props., Inc. v. Salvino, Inc., 542 F.3d 290, 309 (2d Cir. 2008). Where, as here, both parties have moved for summary judgment, "each party's motion must be examined on its own merits, and ... all reasonable inferences must be drawn against the party whose motion is under consideration." Morales v. Quintel Entm't, Inc., 249 F.3d 115, 121 (2d Cir.2001).
The parties have cross-moved for summary judgment on the facial constitutionality of the POW Law. (Dkts. 136, 132.)
The Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, applied against the States by incorporation into the Fourteenth Amendment, see Walz v. Tax Comm'n of City of N.Y., 397 U.S. 664, 702, 90 S.Ct. 1409, 25 L.Ed.2d 697 (1970), provides that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." U.S. Const. amend. I. "At a minimum, the protections of the Free Exercise Clause pertain if the law at issue discriminates
As the Supreme Court has instructed, however, the "right of free exercise does not relieve an individual of the obligation to comply with a valid and neutral law of general applicability on the ground that the law proscribes (or prescribes) conduct that his religion proscribes (or prescribes)." Employment Div. v. Smith ("Smith"), 494 U.S. 872, 879, 110 S.Ct. 1595, 108 L.Ed.2d 876 (1990) (quoting United States v. Lee, 455 U.S. 252, 263, 102 S.Ct. 1051, 71 L.Ed.2d 127 (1982) (Stevens, J., concurring)). Such laws are subject to rational basis review. Cent. Rabbinical Cong. of U.S. & Canada v. New York City Dep't of Health & Mental Hygiene ("Cent. Rabbinical Cong."), 763 F.3d 183, 193 (2d Cir.2014). A law burdening religious conduct that is not both neutral and generally applicable, however, is subject to strict scrutiny. Lukumi, 508 U.S. at 531-32, 546, 113 S.Ct. 2217. Neutrality and general applicability are interrelated, and, failure to satisfy one requirement means that it is likely that the other has not been satisfied. Id.
A law is not neutral if it is "specifically directed at [a] religious practice." Smith, 494 U.S. at 878, 110 S.Ct. 1595.
Plaintiff argues that there is evidence of discriminatory intent because the POW Law was enacted only three months after Plaintiff prevailed in State Court against the Village in January 2001. (Pl. Mem. at 14-15). However, the evidence indicates that the 2001 Amendment process began well before the State Court decision. In the mid-1990s, the Village became concerned about the influx of places of worship and private schools, and about the gap in the Village's zoning scheme with respect to these institutions. (Def. 56.1 ¶ 43.) In June 1999, the Board of Trustees imposed a moratorium on development applications within the Village that related to subdivisions, partitions, changes of zone, and special use permits. (Id. ¶ 46.) Subsequently, the Village studied its zoning scheme, and the Village Planner proposed a series of comprehensive and coordinated zoning amendments. (Id. ¶ 46.) On February 20, 2001, the Board adopted a Findings Statement regarding the 2001 Amendments and enacted the Amendments in March 2001. (Id. ¶¶ 48, 50.) Therefore, Plaintiff's argument that the Village enacted the POW Law in response to, and as retaliation for, Plaintiff's State Court victory is contradicted by undisputed evidence that the Village was seeking to restructure its zoning scheme for religious and educational uses as early as 1999, two years prior to the final State Court decision, and that the purpose of the POW Law was to fill gaps in the Village's zoning scheme, which already restricted residential, commercial, and industrial uses.
The case here is unlike Lukumi, where the Supreme Court reviewed a law that prohibited, for public health reasons, the animal sacrifice practice of the Santeria religion. Lukumi, 508 U.S. at 538-9, 113 S.Ct. 2217. The Court found the neutrality of the law to be suspect because it was overbroad, resulted in a "flat prohibition" on the targeted religious practice, and did not exempt those aspects of the activity
The general applicability requirement prohibits the government from "selective[ly] impos[ing] burdens only on conduct motivated by religious belief..." Lukumi, 508 U.S. at 543, 113 S.Ct. 2217. It "protect[s] religious observers against unequal treatment, and inequality [that] results when a legislature decides that the governmental interests it seeks to advance are worthy of being pursued only against conduct with a religious motivation." Id. at 542-43, 113 S.Ct. 2217, (internal quotation marks and citation omitted) (first alteration in original). A law is not generally applicable if it is "substantially underinclusive such that it regulates religious conduct while failing to regulate secular conduct that is at least as harmful to the legitimate government interests purportedly justifying it." Cent. Rabbinical Cong., 763 F.3d at 197. Relevant evidence includes, inter alia, the historical background of the decision under challenge, the specific series of events leading to the enactment or official policy in question, and the legislative or administrative history, including contemporaneous statements made by members of the decision-making body. Id. at 540, 113 S.Ct. 2217.
Plaintiff argues that the POW Law is not generally applicable because it applies to places of worship, and "includes no general regulation of secular institutional development." (Pl. Mem. at 14.) However, Plaintiff fails to acknowledge that the objectives of the POW Law are similarly pursued in the Village Zoning Code's provision regulating analogous non-religious conduct, specifically not-for-profit schools. As discussed supra, the legislative history of the 2001 Amendments indicates that the laws were enacted to control development and address the adverse impacts presented
Because the POW Law is a neutral law of general applicability, it need be justified only by a rational basis. Under the rational basis test, a statute will be upheld "if there is a rational relationship between the disparity of treatment and some legitimate governmental purpose." Heller v. Doe, 509 U.S. 312, 320, 113 S.Ct. 2637, 125 L.Ed.2d 257 (1993). The rational basis standard "`is not a license for courts to judge the wisdom, fairness, or logic of legislative choices.'" F.C.C. v. Beach Commc'ns, Inc., 508 U.S. 307, 313, 113 S.Ct. 2096, 124 L.Ed.2d 211 (1993) (citation omitted). As long as the rational basis test is met, the statute will be upheld "even if the law seems unwise or works to the disadvantage of a particular group, or if the rationale for it seems tenuous." Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620, 632, 116 S.Ct. 1620, 134 L.Ed.2d 855 (1996).
The POW Law is constitutional under a rational basis analysis. Defendants have a legitimate governmental purpose in maintaining the integrity of its zoning scheme and the residential character of the Village. It is well-established that States and cities may enact land-use restrictions or controls to enhance the quality of life by preserving the character and desirable aesthetic features of a city. See, e.g., Penn Cent. Transp. Co. v. City of New York, 438 U.S. 104, 129, 98 S.Ct. 2646, 57 L.Ed.2d 631 (1978); New Orleans v. Dukes, 427 U.S. 297, 96 S.Ct. 2513, 49 L.Ed.2d 511 (1976); Young v. American Mini Theatres, Inc., 427 U.S. 50, 96 S.Ct. 2440, 49 L.Ed.2d 310 (1976); Village of Belle Terre v. Boraas, 416 U.S. 1, 9-10, 94 S.Ct. 1536, 39 L.Ed.2d 797 (1974); Bd. of Managers of Soho Int'l Arts Condo. v. City of N.Y., No. 01 Civ. 1226, 2004 WL 1982520, at *14 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 8, 2004); Trustees of Union Coll. in Town of Schenectady in State of N.Y. v. Members of Schenectady City Council, 91 N.Y.2d 161, 165, 667 N.Y.S.2d 978, 690 N.E.2d 862 (1997). The Village's objective of preserving the Village's residential character is a legitimate governmental goal.
The POW Law is rationally related to achieving this objective. The DFEIS provided by the Village explains the reasoning behind the substantive components of the proposed 2001 Amendments, including the POW Law. (Ex. 28 to Def. Mem.) It is clear that the 2001 Amendments regulated building area, building height, building and parking area setbacks from property lines, screening, and traffic circulation to address the potential adverse impacts of large institutional facilities on the residential nature of the Village. (Id.) Therefore, the POW Law is rationally related to maintaining the integrity of the Village's zoning scheme, and is facially constitutional.
Accordingly, the Court denies the Diocese's summary judgment motion regarding the facial constitutionality of the POW Law, and grant's Defendants' cross-motion on this issue.
The Diocese claims that the Resolution, which was adopted pursuant to the Village's zoning authority under the POW Law, substantially burdens the Diocese's religious use of the Property as a cemetery, in violation of RLUIPA. (ASC ¶ 121.) Defendants move to dismiss this claim on the basis that the Village has not imposed any burden, no less a substantial one, on the Diocese's exercise of religion. Rather, Defendants contend, the Diocese has had the authority to develop the Property as a cemetery for more than four years, but has chosen not to do so and, therefore, any burden on the Diocese's religious use of its Property is self-imposed. (Def. Mem. at 32.) The Court finds that there remain material facts in dispute regarding the issue of whether the Village, through its passage of the Resolution, has imposed a substantial burden on the Diocese with respect to the development and maintenance of QOP, and thus denies Defendants' motion as to the Diocese's RLUIPA claim.
Under RLUIPA, the Diocese must demonstrate a prima facie claim that the challenged rule constitutes a substantial burden on the exercise of its religious beliefs. If the Diocese meets this burden, the Village must then prove that the substantial burden furthers a compelling governmental interest and is the least restrictive means of doing so. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc(a)(1)(A-B); Bikur Cholim, Inc. v. Village of Suffern, 664 F.Supp.2d 267, 275-76 (S.D.N.Y.2009). To establish a substantial burden on the exercise of religion, the Diocese must show that the government's action "directly coerces the religious institution to change its behavior." Fortress Bible Church v. Feiner, 694 F.3d 208, 219 (2d Cir.2012) (quoting Westchester Day Sch. v. Vill. of Mamaroneck, 504 F.3d 338, 349 (2d Cir.2007)) (emphasis omitted). "The burden must have more than a minimal impact on religious exercise, and there must be a close nexus between the two." Id. (citation omitted).
With respect to zoning regulations, a complete denial of a religious institution's enjoyment of its property is not required to show a substantial burden. Cathedral Church of Intercessor v. Inc. Vill. of Malverne, No. 02 Civ. 2989, 2006 WL 572855, at *8 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 6, 2006). Where an organization has no realistic alternatives to its desired use of the property, a temporary or incomplete denial may constitute a substantial burden. Westchester Day Sch., 504 F.3d at 349. However, the denial of a zoning variance that has a minimal impact on the institution's religious exercise does not qualify as a substantial burden. Id.
Here, Plaintiff argues that, although the Village did not deny the Diocese's permit application outright, the Resolution imposes arbitrary and unreasonable burdens that prevent the Diocese from using the Property for its intended religious purpose as a Roman Catholic cemetery. (Pl. Opp.
Plaintiff also argues that the non-use setbacks required under the Resolution allow less than 44%, or about 42.5%, of the 97.3-acre QOP site for interments, thereby significantly restricting its use of the Property for religious burial purposes. (Def. Mem. at 4.) Plaintiff claims that other provisions in the Resolution that substantially burden the Diocese's use of the QOP site, including the requirements that the Diocese retain a third-party landscaper, construct a perimeter berm, conduct groundwater testing that is more restrictive than the accepted State standard, re-locate, refurbish, and maintain the Property's existing barn structure, and restore a pond on the Property. The Diocese argues that these requirements will cause it to incur substantial ongoing costs during the decades-long development of the QOP site. (ASC ¶ 121.) Plaintiff also argues that the fee provision in the Resolution is also unduly burdensome because it requires the Diocese to pay all of the Village's consulting and attorneys' fees without limit and in perpetuity in connection with the development of the Property.
The Court finds that these allegations are sufficient to establish a prima facie claim for substantial burden within the meaning of RLUIPA.
Given that Plaintiff has made a prima facie claim of substantial burden, Defendants must prove that this burden both furthers a compelling governmental interest and is the least restrictive means of doing so. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc(a)(1)(A-B); Bikur Cholim, Inc. v. Village of Suffern, 664 F.Supp.2d 267, 275-76 (S.D.N.Y. 2009). The Court does not address Defendants' argument that maintaining the aesthetic qualities of the Village is a compelling governmental interest because it is clear that there is a factual dispute as to whether the Village is using the least restrictive means to protect that interest. Defendants have conceded, both in their
Plaintiff claims that the Resolution deprives the Diocese of its right to the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment. Defendants move to dismiss this claim on the same grounds they asserted in connection with the substantial burden claim.
Substantial burden claims under RLUIPA are intended to mirror the framework of First Amendment free exercise claims. Westchester Day Sch., 504 F.3d at 348 ("RLUIPA's legislative history indicates that Congress intended the term substantial burden to be interpreted `by reference to Supreme Court [free exercise] jurisprudence.'") (quoting 146 Cong. Rec. S7774, S7776 (2000)) (alteration added); see also Murphy v. New Milford Zoning Comm'n, 402 F.3d 342, 350 (2d Cir.2005) (noting that Congress intended RLUIPA to be a codification of "existing Free Exercise jurisprudence"); Chabad Lubavitch of Litchfield Cnty., Inc. v. Litchfield Historic Dist. Comm'n, 768 F.3d 183, 198 (2d Cir. 2014) ("RLUIPA, after all, codified `existing Free Exercise ... rights against states and municipalities' that discriminated against religious land use.") (citation omitted).
Thus, there exist material facts in dispute with respect to the Diocese's RLUIPA substantial burden claim, such that Defendants' summary judgment on this claim must be denied.
Plaintiff alleges that the Village's application of the POW Law violated RLUIPA by treating the Diocese "on less than equal terms than a nonreligious assembly or institution." (Pl. Opp. at 42-45.)
The equal terms provision of RLUIPA provides that "[n]o government
However, the mere fact that religious and secular organizations are subject to different land-use regimes does not necessarily prove unequal treatment. In Third Church of Christ Scientist, the Second Circuit noted that "organizations subject to different land-use regimes may well not be sufficiently similar to support a discriminatory-enforcement challenge." Id. at 671 (emphasis omitted). In reaching this conclusion, the court looked to Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana of Boca Raton, Inc. v. Broward County ("Primera"), in which the Eleventh Circuit held that a church and school were insufficiently comparable to establish an equal terms claim, given that the institutions had sought different forms of zoning relief from different land-use authorities applying "sharply different" criteria. 450 F.3d 1295, 1311 (11th Cir.2006). Because the evidence of the church's and school's treatment was thus "consistent with the ... neutral application of different zoning regulations" — suggesting "different treatment, not unequal treatment" — the Eleventh Circuit held that the plaintiff-church in Primera had failed to establish a prima facie equal terms claim. Id. at 1313.
Here, Plaintiff fails to identify a comparable secular assembly or institution that was treated more favorably than the Diocese. The Meadow Brook Polo Club
Plaintiff also argues that the residence of Steven Schonfeld ("Schonfeld Residence") is a valid comparator. In 2002, the Village allowed Schonfeld to develop, on his 112.69 acre property, an approximately 25,000-square-foot house, a 4,000-square-foot guesthouse, two pools, various maintenance buildings and facilities, and a 54.33-acre, private nine-hole golf course and related lawns. (Pl. Opp. at 44; Ex. 26 to Sahn Aff.) Plaintiff argues that, in contrast to the Diocese, Schonfeld was not required to perform pre-development groundwater testing or ongoing groundwater monitoring, or hire third-party landscapers. (Pl. Opp. at 44.) According to
The fundamental flaw in Plaintiff's argument is that RLUIPA prohibits treating religious uses inequitably when compared to those of a "nonreligious assembly or institution".
Accordingly, because Plaintiff has failed to identify a nonreligious assembly or institution that was treated more favorably than the Diocese, Defendants are granted summary judgment on this claim.
The Diocese alleges that Defendants' conduct against Plaintiff since 2003 was undertaken in direct retaliation for Plaintiff's pursuit of the State Court Action and the current lawsuit, in violation of Section 1983. (Dkt. 77 ¶¶ 162-64). Defendants move to dismiss this claim, arguing that the process leading to the adoption of the 2001 Amendments, and the establishment of the language of the 2001 Amendments, had occurred months before the decision in the Trial Court in the State Court Action. (Def. Mem. at 14.)
"In general, a section 1983 claim will lie where the government takes
There is no dispute regarding the Diocese's First Amendment right to sue the Village, as it did in 1996 and again here. See, e.g., Dougherty v. Town of N. Hempstead Bd. of Zoning Appeals, 282 F.3d 83, 91 (2d Cir.2002) ("The rights to complain to public officials and to seek administrative and judicial relief from their actions are protected by the First Amendment."). The dispositive inquiries for purposes of this retaliation claim are whether Defendants had an improper motive with respect to its handling of Plaintiff's permit application and whether Defendants would have taken the same actions regardless of the Diocese's pursuit of the State Court Action and this federal action.
Plaintiff puts forth the following evidence in support of its Section 1983 claim:
At a Board meeting on March 19, 2001, Defendant Blau stated that the POW Law would "not [a]ffect any application that is already on file," which should have included the QOP application that was made in 1995. (Ex. 43 to Pl. Opp.; McDonough Tr.
Although Defendants dispute Plaintiff's characterization and the weight of this evidence, the Court finds that Plaintiff has sufficiently demonstrated that there are materials facts in dispute upon which a jury might find a retaliatory motive by the Village based on the Diocese's pursuit of litigation in State and federal court over the Village's handling of the QOP permit application. In particular, the statement in the Village attorney's September 27, 2005 letter provides a link between the Diocese's victory in the State Court Action and the Village's decision to apply the POW Law to the QOP site, which, Plaintiff argues, was a reversal in the Village's position. In addition, the temporal nexus of seven months, coupled with the surrounding circumstances, e.g., the length and expense of the QOP permitting process and the extensive restrictions in the Resolution, which seemingly go beyond the POW Law's requirements and are arguably gratuitous (see discussion supra at pp. 585-87), could be viewed as supporting a finding of retaliatory motive on the Village's part. Accordingly, the Court denies summary judgment on Plaintiff's retaliation claim.
Plaintiff alleges that it even if the POW Law is neutral, the Village nonetheless treated the Diocese in an intentionally discriminatory manner on the basis of religion. (Pl. Opp. at 40.) However, Plaintiff's Equal Protection claim merely recasts the same arguments it made when challenging the facial constitutionality of the POW Law, i.e., alleging that the POW law was passed to intentionally discriminate against religious institutions versus secular ones. For largely the same reasons that the Court granted summary to Defendants on the facial constitutionality challenge, the Court grants summary judgment on Plaintiff's Equal Protection claim.
The Fourteenth Amendment states in pertinent part: "No State shall ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." U.S. Const. amend. XIV § 1. The Court has generally recognized three types of equal protection
As previously discussed, the POW Law is facially neutral, which eliminates the first type of Equal Protection claim listed above. The second type of Equal Protection claim, for selective enforcement, was eliminated during the motion to dismiss stage of this case.
To establish an Equal Protection claim, claimants must prove purposeful discrimination by a government actor, directed at a suspect class, such as a racial group, or a religion. Congregation Rabbinical Coll. of Tartikov, Inc. v. Vill. of Pomona, 915 F.Supp.2d 574, 615 (S.D.N.Y. 2013). Plaintiff must demonstrate, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the alleged "discrimination was a substantial or motivating factor" for the government's action or decision. See Hunter v. Underwood, 471 U.S. 222, 225, 105 S.Ct. 1916, 85 L.Ed.2d 222 (1985); see also U.S. v. City of Yonkers, 96 F.3d 600, 611-12 (2d Cir.1996) (a plaintiff making an Equal Protection claim must show that an impermissible factor, such as race, was "a motivating factor" for the State's action) (quotation marks and citation omitted) (emphasis in original). The plaintiff, though, "need not show ... that a government decisionmaker was motivated solely, primarily, or even predominantly by" improper concerns based on religion. City of Yonkers, 96 F.3d at 611-12. The Second Circuit also instructs that "[b]ecause discriminatory intent is rarely susceptible to direct proof, litigants may make `a sensitive inquiry into such circumstantial and direct evidence of intent as may be available.'" Hayden v. Paterson, 594 F.3d 150, 163 (2d Cir.2010) (citation omitted).
Here, Plaintiff fails to present sufficient evidence upon which a jury could find that the Village's application of the POW Law was motivated by anti-religious intent. While the evidence discussed below may be pertinent to Plaintiff's "substantial burden" RLUIPA claim, it fails to demonstrate that the Village targeted the
In support of its assertion that the Village acted out of a discriminatory purpose, Plaintiff claims that from 2004 to 2005, Defendants continued to suggest that they might assess QOP favorably if it included a residential subdivision. (Pl. Opp. at 15.) Plaintiff alleges that, at the insistence of Defendant Carillo, the Diocese expended significant time and money to present a plan that limited QOP to 69 acres and included multiple residential tax lots, each of which would pay property tax. (Id.) However, Plaintiff claims that despite this concession, the Diocese continued to delay its assessment of the QOP permit application. (Id.) Defendants argue that the Diocese proposed the residential subdivision on its own accord, and without any input from the Village. (Def. Reply
In addition, Plaintiff alleges that in 2004, Defendants suggested to the Diocese that if it made significant Payments In Lieu of Taxes ("PILOT payments")
Plaintiff also argues, in support of its allegation of discriminatory motive, that the Village intentionally delayed the processing of the QOP permit application. For example, the Diocese submitted a DFEIS on July 1, 2009 for determination within the 45-day statutory requirement, which Defendant failed to do. (Def. 56.1 ¶ 166.) Instead, Plaintiff claims that after responding to the DFEIS past the deadline, it sought "new or redundant reports, and studies on completed studies", even though the FEIS was intended to end SEQRA information gathering. (Pl. Opp. at 21; Ex. 93 to Pl. Opp.) While Defendants concede that they did not respond to the DFEIS within the statutorily mandated period,
Plaintiff argues that the Village similarly discriminated against other religious use applications. Bethel United Pentecostal Church ("Bethel") sought approval to construct a house of worship on 29 acres in the Village. (Ex. 46 to Pl. Opp.) The POW Law was applied, even though the project began in 1999, prior to the enactment of the POW Law. (Id.) Plaintiff also claims that Defendants encouraged Bethel to sell acreage for residential development. (Id.) In a letter sent from Bethel to the Mayor and the Village Board, dated August 30, 2006, Bethel claims that it entered into an agreement to make PILOT payments "after it was clear that it had no choice if it was going to obtain a use permit for a house of worship." (Ex. 46 to Pl. Opp. at p. 2-3.) Bethel also stated that it was subjected to a seven-year SEQRA process, due to many delays on behalf of the Village.
In 2000, Central Presbyterian Church ("CP") sought religious land use approval for a 21-acre property. Defendants also applied the POW Law, including setbacks, building volume, and parking limitations, even though the project began prior to the enactment of the POW Law. (Ex. 50 to Pl. Opp.) Plaintiff claims that CP was subjected to an unfairly protracted SEQRA process, including requiring CP to conduct excessive and repetitive testing, and was charged excessive fees as part of the permitting process. (Pl. Opp. at 42, n. 48; Ex. 51 to Pl. Opp. at 54:23-55:3 (in a meeting with CP and the Board of Trustees, CP describes the application process as an "endless process")); Ex. 52 to Pl. Opp. at p. 2 ("[E]xtended review process... [and] constant repetition of Village's demand that [CP] accede to a reduction in the size of is facility ... nothing more than a means for the Village to attempt to defeat this application by delay and imposition of expense.").
While Plaintiff presents evidence that may bolster its "substantial burden" RLUIPA or retaliation claims, it fails to set forth sufficient evidence that upon which a jury could find anti-religious animus by the Village with respect to its adoption and application of the POW Law, its handling of the SEQRA process, or its enactment of the Resolution. Even though the Village may have specifically imposed restrictions on religious institutions,
Plaintiff argues that beginning in April 2009, Michael Malatino, "who holds himself out as having police power within the Village," conducted one or more searches of the QOP site without a warrant or sufficient cause.
Defendants deny that Malatino even entered the Property. According to Defendants, in April 2009, Richard Richot, the Village Historian, complained about the condition of a house on the Property known as the Hitchcock House, and requested that the Village conduct an inspection of the house. (Def. Mem. at 48-49.) Defendants claim that Malatino inspected the Hitchcock house from the street, while remaining in his car. (Id.; Malatino Tr.
The Court finds that there is a dispute of material fact about whether Malatino ever entered the Property and whether he had a warrant or sufficient cause to do so. Therefore, summary judgment is denied as to claims against Malatino regarding any allegedly warrantless search of the Property.
Defendants argue that the claims against the Trustees should be dismissed under the doctrines of absolute
Qualified immunity shields "government officials from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known." Messerschmidt v. Millender, ___ U.S. ___, 132 S.Ct. 1235, 1244, 182 L.Ed.2d 47 (2012) (quoting Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223, 231, 129 S.Ct. 808, 172 L.Ed.2d 565 (2009)). "Because the defense of qualified immunity is designed to relieve government officials of the burdens of litigation as well as of the threat of damages, summary judgment is encouraged as a device for disposing of claims barred by qualified immunity." Gan v. City of New York, 996 F.2d 522, 532 (2d Cir.1993). Concluding that a defendant official's conduct was objectively reasonable as a matter of law may be appropriate where there is no dispute as to the material historical facts. Id.; Taravella v. Town of Wolcott, 599 F.3d 129, 134-35 (2d Cir.2010).
The initial inquiry as to whether qualified immunity applies is to determine if plaintiff can show that the accused official violated a constitutional right. Demoret v. Zegarelli, 451 F.3d 140, 148 (2d Cir.2006) (citation omitted). If no such right was violated, the inquiry proceeds no further, and the plaintiff's claim fails. Id. Since the jury will decide any remaining claims regarding Defendants' alleged violation of Plaintiff's constitutional rights, the qualified immunity issue cannot be decided until after the jury decides this threshold issue. See Zellner v. Summerlin, 494 F.3d 344, 368 (2d Cir.2007) (when material facts pertaining to immunity are in dispute, the appropriate procedure is to allow the jury to resolve any disputed facts that are material to the qualified immunity issue, so that the court may make the "ultimate determination of whether the officer's conduct was objectively reasonable....").
Plaintiff seeks monetary damages against the Trustees pursuant to RLUIPA. (Def. Opp. at 47-48.)
Courts are divided on the issue of whether the "appropriate relief" available under RLUIPA extends to monetary damages. Compare Madison v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 474 F.3d 118, 131-32 (4th Cir.2006) (monetary damages are not available under RLUIPA); Bock v. Gold, No. 5 Civ. 151, 2008 WL 345890, at *6 (D.Vt. Feb. 7, 2008) ("RLUIPA does not create a claim for monetary damages against the defendants in their official capacities.") with Hankins v. NYS Dep't of Corr. Servs., No. 07 Civ. 0408, 2008 WL 2019655, at *7 (N.D.N.Y. Mar. 10, 2008) ("It appears that, after the enactment of RLUIPA in 2000, states could accept federal funds ... only on the condition that they comply with RLUIPA, which effectively constituted a waiver of their sovereign immunity under the Eleventh Amendment."). Courts within this Circuit have
For the reasons set forth above, the Court finds that the POW Law is facially constitutional and therefore denies Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment, and grants Defendants' motion for summary judgment on this claim. The Court otherwise grants, in part, and denies, in part, Defendant's motion for summary judgment. The five claims that will proceed to trial are Plaintiff's: (1) RLUIPA substantial burden claim, (2) as-applied constitutional challenge to the POW Law, (3) First Amendment free exercise of religion claim, (4) Section 1983 retaliation claim, and (5) Section 1983 unlawful search claim against Defendant Malatino. The parties shall file their Joint Pretrial Order on October 5, 2015.
SO ORDERED.
(Ex. 52 to Def. Mem.)
