The Rock Church sues Castle Rock challenging ban on sheltering homeless in RVs

“Share your meals with the hungry, and provides shelter to the homeless.”

That passage from Isaiah 58:7 was invoked by the Rock Church in a lawsuit it filed in opposition to Citadel Rock final week as a part of an try to overturn the city’s resolution to bar the evangelical church from offering non permanent shelter to homeless individuals in two RVs parked behind the church.

“The Bible particularly directs God’s individuals to take care of the poor and needy, and these Scriptures, and others, state the sincerely held beliefs of the Rock concerning take care of the poor and needy,” the lawsuit, filed in Douglas County District Court docket on Thursday, reads.

The Rock describes its program as “transitional, for a restricted interval and offered pursuant to Biblical stewardship pointers.” These taking shelter should present that they’re on the lookout for work and should additionally comply with “stop harmful behaviors,” the church says.

“Citadel Rock doesn’t have the fitting to inform the Rock which autos might be parked in its personal parking zone, how lengthy they are often parked there, and whether or not somebody can sit, stand, eat, or sleep in such autos,” the swimsuit reads. “A considerable burden on a church’s mission brought on by utility of a zoning regulation might violate RLUIPA.”

RLUIPA, or the Non secular Land Use and Institutional Individuals Act, is a 2000 regulation that protects “people, homes of worship, and different non secular establishments from discrimination in zoning and landmarking legal guidelines,” as described by the U.S. Division of Justice.

Mike Polhemus, lead pastor of the Rock, mentioned the church “loves its neighbors, neighborhood, and city.”

“It’s from that deep love that we really feel compelled to motion to assist people experiencing want or lack,” he wrote in an e mail. “We try this with a wide range of companies together with free meals, clothes, counseling, and employment assets. We imagine the church ought to fulfill that function and responsibility in the neighborhood.”

Citadel Rock spokeswoman Melissa Hoelting mentioned the city doesn’t touch upon pending litigation.

The latest point-in-time survey of homeless people in metro Denver discovered that 72 individuals have been with out a house in Douglas County on Jan. 30, 2023. Three of 5 respondents have been experiencing homelessness for the primary time, in keeping with the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative.

That compares to the greater than 9,000 individuals the survey discovered to be with out a house all through your entire seven-county metro space. Secure parking packages, the place individuals who dwell out of their autos can park in church parking tons in a single day, have sprouted in metro Denver in recent times.

“It isn’t disputed that there’s a downside in Citadel Rock for individuals experiencing non permanent homelessness,” the Rock’s lawsuit reads.

In line with the criticism, the dispute over the 2 RVs, referred to within the criticism as “campers,” began greater than two years in the past when Citadel Rock’s zoning supervisor despatched the church a discover of violation, asserting city code doesn’t permit “storage or residency in campers on the property.”

That was adopted up a 12 months later with a letter from the city legal professional stating that the church, situated within the northwest nook of The Meadows neighborhood, remained in violation of zoning code. Final fall, Citadel Rock’s director of growth companies instructed the church that solely a parsonage is an appropriate residential use on the property, the swimsuit says.

The Rock appealed to Citadel Rock’s Board of Adjustment, which final month upheld the city’s resolution to disclaim the church use of the campers to briefly home homeless individuals. The church says it may possibly’t home individuals inside its constructing due to “restricted in a single day workers.”