Rocky Mountain Christian v. Board of Com'Rs.
| Decision Date | 30 March 2007 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV. 06-CV-00554REBB.,CIV. 06-CV-00554REBB. |
| Citation | 481 F.Supp.2d 1213 |
| Parties | ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHRISTIAN CHURCH, a Colorado nonprofit corporation Plaintiff, and Unites States of America, intervenor, Intervenor Plaintiff, v. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF BOULDER COUNTY, COLORADO, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Colorado |
Robinson, Neff & Ragonetti, P.C., Denver, CO, for Plaintiff.
Peter Michael Bryce, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Intervenor Plaintiff.
David Evan Hughes, Patricia A. Mayne, Boulder County District Attorney's Office, Boulder, CO, Dwight H. Merriam, Robinson & Cole, LLP, Hartford, CT, Hiram Bissell Carey, III, Michael Steven Giaimo, Robinson & Cole, LLP, Boston, MA, for Defendant.
ORDER CONCERNING DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS
This matter is before me on the defendant's Motion to Dismiss Amended Complaint [# 34], filed June 30, 2006. The plaintiff has filed a response, and the defendant has filed a reply. In addition, the United States has been granted permission to intervene as a plaintiff, and the United States has filed a brief in defense of the constitutionality of the statute at issue in this case. The defendant has filed a reply to the United States' brief.
I have subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 (federal question), 28 U.S.C. § 1343(a) (), and 28 U.S.C. § 1367(a) (supplemental jurisdiction).
When ruling on a motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), I must determine whether the allegations set forth in the complaint, if true, are sufficient to state a claim within the meaning of Fed. R.Civ.P. 8(a). I must accept all well-pleaded allegations of the complaint as true. McDonald v. Kinder-Morgan, Inc., 287 F.3d 992, 997 (10th Cir.2002). "However, conclusory allegations or legal conclusions masquerading as factual conclusions will not suffice to prevent a motion to dismiss." Fernandez-Montes v. Allied Pilots Association, 987 F.2d 278, 284 (5th Cir.1993); see also Ruiz v. McDonnell, 299 F.3d 1173, 1181 (10th Cir.2002) (), cert. denied, 538 U.S. 999, 123 S.Ct. 1908, 155 L.Ed2d 826 (2003). Thus, Rule 12(b)(6) requires dismissal if, taking all well-pleaded facts as true and construing them in the light most favorable to plaintiff, it is clear that he can prove no set of facts entitling him to relief. See Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957); Rocky Mountain Helicopters, Inc., v. Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc., 24 F.3d 125, 128 (10th Cir.1994).
This summary of facts is drawn from the plaintiffs' Amended Complaint and Jury Demand [# 25], filed May 12, 2006. Citations to paragraph numbers (e.g.111) refer to the numbered paragraphs in the amended complaint.
Rocky Mountain Christian Church is a nondenominational Christian church founded in 1984 to serve the religious needs of people in the area of Niwot, Colorado. The church and four of its officials are the plaintiffs in this case, and I will refer to the plaintiffs collectively as "the church." The church owns a 54.4 acre parcel of property in unincorporated Boulder County. The property was acquired in separate acquisitions of 15 acres in 1984, 35 acres in 1994, and five acres in 2004. Under the Boulder County Land Use Code (code), the property is located in an Agricultural (A) zone district. This designation has been effective since the church acquired the first parcel in 1984. Prior to 1996, a church building of any size was a use by right in the Agricultural (A) zone district.
In 1996, the code was changed, and now requires that any church with an occupancy load of more than 100, or meeting certain other criteria, to obtain special review from the Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County. Since 1996, a church with an occupancy load of more than 100 cannot be developed in any zone district in Boulder County as a use by right. Rather, such a church must go through a discretionary review process known as special use review. The church alleges that the special use review process is lengthy and expensive. The criteria for special use review are specified in Section 4-601 of the code. ¶ 77. The church claims the special use review criteria are unquantifiable and subjective. ¶ 77. Since the special use criteria were adopted, the board has adopted formal policies, and has engaged in informal practices, that allow the board to grant exemptions from the requirements of Section 4-601 of the code. The plaintiffs allege that, in making a determination as to whether to approve a use by special review, the board engages in an individualized assessment of the proposed use and the property involved. 1183. The church claims that the unquantifiable and subjective special use review criteria, and the board's exemption policies and practices, give the board unbridled discretion to approve or deny any application for use by special review. ¶ 84. Such standards, the church alleges, create the danger that the board may "impermissibly favor non-religious uses over religious uses, or favor one religion over another." ¶ 84.
1997 Special Use Application — After the 1996 amendments to the code, the church's building became a non-conforming use. In 1997, the church filed an application for special use to make the church's building an approved use. In the same application, the church sought authorization to begin operating a Christian school serving kindergarten through 8th grade students, with a maximum of 400 students. The church sought to build a two-story addition of about 54,000 square feet for administrative space and classrooms. Finally, the church sought to expand the seating capacity of the worship center from 997 to 1,380 through interior renovation. The board approved the 1997 application, but limited the size of the school to 260 persons, serving kindergarten through fifth grade.
The existing church building and all of the proposed expansion were contained on the parcel acquired by the church in 1984, consisting of 15 acres. However, as a condition of approval, the board required the church to combine as one lot the 15 acre parcel with the 35 acre parcel acquired by the church in 1994. Further, the board required the church to enter into a development agreement that required the church to grant to the county a 14 acre conservation easement on the northern portion of the church property.
2000 and 2002 Special Use Applications — Two additional applications for special use were filed the church in 2000 and 2002, and both were approved by the board. The 2000 special use approval authorized the church to increase the size of the church's storage building by 1,600 square feet, and authorized the addition of a sixth grade to the school. The 2002 special use approval authorized the addition of seventh and eighth grades, with a maximum of 120 students, and the installation of a temporary middle school building for those grades. Apparently, the resolution approving the 2002 application required the church to remove the temporary buildings by the end of the 2005-2006 school year, and contemplated that an application for a permanent facility would be submitted by the church. ¶ 94.
2004 Special Use Application — The application at issue in this case is the church's 2004 special use application, which was submitted on April 14, 2004, and amended on October 6, 2004. When the application was filed, and currently, the approved use of the church's property ineludes a church with a 1,400 seat facility, a preschool for 20 children, a "mom's Day Out" program for up to 40 children, and the Rocky Mountain Christian Academy, serving kindergarten through eighth grades, with a maximum of 380 students. Currently, the church property includes a 106,000 square feet church building, a 2,600 square feet maintenance building, and 7,200 square feet of temporary modular units for the Christian Academy.
In its 2004 special use application, the church sought to expand its facilities, although the scope of the, proposed expansion is not clearly described in the complaint. The church does note that it modified its application to eliminate a proposed 12,000 square feet balcony addition to its sanctuary, reducing its request for additional seating from 1,000 to 150, and by eliminating a proposed 8,000 square feet basement addition. ¶ 21. The church also deleted its request to increase the population of the Christian Academy from the currently permitted 380 students to 540 students, and modified other requests concerning parking, lighting, and a buffer zone on the western side of its property. ¶ 21. The board denied the church's application.
The Church's Claims — The church claims that the county's conduct in processing the church's application, and the county's denial of the church's 2004 special use application, violated various provisions of the United States and Colorado constitutions. The church alleges that the county's actions discriminated both against religion, and between religions, by unreasonably limiting religious assemblies and institutions and structures within the county. As part of these claims, the church alleges that the county has imposed a substantial burden on the church's exercise of religion, and that the burden imposed does not serve a compelling governmental interest. In addition, the church claims the county's actions abridge its rights of free speech, free association, and its right to petition. The church alleges also that the county's actions violate the requirements of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000cc-2000cc-5. In its motion to dismiss, the...
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