LONG BEACH, Calif.,
Feb. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The
following is an open letter from Jonathan Thompson, founder
of Good Seed Community Development
Corporation ("Good Seed"), an organization that grew
out of the Good Seed Church, whose mission is to help youth not
only live but thrive by providing supportive, nurturing,
specialized care for homeless young people in California through supportive housing, job
training, comprehensive services, and individual
planning:
Across the United States, we
assume that the modern-day church is free of persecution from
government. However, through land use and zoning laws, and
procedural processes, the local church is facing levels of
opposition, suppression, and delay in cities throughout the
country. The Atlantic previously wrote an article, The Quiet
Religious-Freedom Fight That Is Remaking America, in 2017
regarding a small town church nestled in Bergen County, New Jersey. However, the quiet
religious freedom fight is making its way across the United States from the East Coast to the
West Coast. And, just like a basket is a combination of individual
strands woven together to form a unit so, too, are the systematic
means and methods to oppress the modern-day church.
The church (meaning an organization or assembly, from the Latin
word ecclesia), in all of its splendor, was established and
identified directly as the body of the Lord Christ Jesus. The
church is designed to be a local group of believers who come
together to glorify God; seek fellowship; spread the gospel;
support and nourish the saints; visit those in jail; care for the
poor, widows, and orphans; and, ultimately, to be the light on a
hill pointing to God the Father.
However, those who do not see the value, who do not believe or
only see the occasional blemishes in the church, are using local
laws (such as land use laws) to delay, deter or stop churches
from being established or from operating. Throughout the
United States, there are countless stories of local governments
such as cities and counties establishing laws, fees, zoning codes,
and procedural processes that make it extremely difficult for
churches to operate. This continues to occur despite the passage of
federal legislation such as the Religious Land Use and
Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), which was designed to
prevent local government and municipalities from obstructing
churches through discriminatory zoning procedures and laws.
In many ways, the church is not intended to conform to the
fluctuating ways of the world. However, when done properly and
implemented justly, local laws benefit the church such as those
that ensure proper implementation of egress and handicapped
designs, energy efficiency, fire safety, and other best
practices.
However, when zoning and land use laws are implemented
maliciously, they essentially prohibit the legal operation of
churches within local systems and codes. This results in
unnecessary conflict, delays in the gospel, and wasted resources.
It also forces orphans, widows, and the homeless to seek support
elsewhere.
The City of Long Beach,
California, for example, codes, zoning laws, systems, and
procedures are an example of laws used to suppress the local
church. This image shows the requirements a church must meet
in order to be legally established in an area of Long Beach, including the fee schedule to
submit an application for a permit and local requirements to
operate, which in this case is a Minor Conditional Use Permit. The
relevant fees are highlighted in yellow.
In comparing the zoning codes for a church, theater, and adult
entertainment business, the chart shows that a church is the only
use requiring a Minor Conditional Use Permit (which would cost over
$4,000) and would have to undergo a
lengthy discretionary conditional use approval process, which can
take a few months to complete if approved.
These requirements can greatly affect the success of a new
church or the relocation of an existing church by redirecting time,
energy, and resources away from their core mission. This raises the
question of whether these restrictions are put in place to
intentionally deter churches and other faith-based institutions
from operating in Long Beach. In
regards to layout, seating requirements, and operational
structures, there are clear similarities between a church and a
live theater or movie theater. However, a theater and adult
entertainment use is permitted by right while a church is subject
to a lengthy discretionary approval process.
The Christian faith believes the evil one uses any number of
tools at his disposal, and this can be one of them. In these
instances, prayer, discernment, voting, and active civic engagement
are paramount for faith-based organizations; without these efforts,
the subtle attempts to block their existence may succeed and will
impact wider communities and future generations.
The Good Seed Church is one institutional example of land use
discrimination and oppression in the City
of Long Beach. Their church focuses on meeting the spiritual
and physical needs of Transitional-Age Youth who are homeless or at
risk of homelessness. They paid the Minor Conditional Use Permit
fee in April of 2016, submitted the required documents for review,
and participated in numerous meetings with the city's Planning
Department. However, they were still met with opposition and
ultimately realized it was never about jumping through the hoops;
it was about the church living out its mission to glorify God in
fellowship and service, caring for the poor and the orphans, and
ultimately to be a light. Good Seed believes youth — homeless or
not — need a church that can meet their spiritual, physical, and
mental health needs. They need showers, meals, a support team
trained in mental health best practices, and mentors to show the
love of God in a supportive and welcoming environment. As the Good
Seed Church goes into its third year of experiencing "denial by
delay" with the City of Long Beach Planning Department, it is
important to share their experience as a caution for churches and
faith-based institutions to be mindful of the intentional
oppression of churches in local cities throughout the United States.
Media Contact
Jonathan Thompson
jthompson@goodseedcdc.org
T (323)758-5433
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/11/rluipa/543504
Related Images
long-beach-california.png
Long Beach, California
long-beach-planning-bureau-fee.png
Long Beach Planning Bureau Fee Schedule
planning-commission-2019-estimated.png
Planning Commission 2019 Estimated Filing & Hearing
Schedule
Related Links
The Quiet Religious-Freedom Fight That Is Remaking America
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SOURCE Good Seed