A Presbyterian church is engaged in a legal battle with the city of Auburn, New York over their Glee Musical Theater Camp and other community offerings.
First Presbyterian Church is accused of using one of their buildings, the Case Mansion, for commercial purposes – a violation of city zoning laws.
The church bought the mansion decades ago, and currently leases the property to Ministro Ministries, Inc. At the mansion, Ministro offers activities for veterans, after school programmes for children and young adults, aerobics and vocational classes. City officials say the activities demonstrate commercial usage, and the mansion lies in a residential district.
Defending the church are attorney Andrew Leja of Hiscock & Barclay and conservative Christian legal defense organisation the Liberty Institute. In response to the zoning violation, the attorneys filed a brief saying the church is "the target of a misguided and discriminatory zoning enforcement action," and the Glee Camp is not a commercial use under the city's zoning guidelines.
"We don't know why the city chose to discriminate against the Glee Camp," Liberty Institute Strategic Litigation Director Hiram Sasser said in a statement. "Cases like this one continue to set valuable precedent for churches across the country, and we look forward to this church once again offering its summer glee camp to the community it has faithfully served for two centuries."
The brief also stated that if the Glee Camp is considered a commercial use, then it should still be allowed under the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalised Persons Act's equal terms clause, which states: "No government shall impose or implement a land use regulation in a manner that treats a religious assembly or institution on less than equal terms with a nonreligious assembly or institution."
Auburn City Court Judge David Thurston is handling the cases against First Presbyterian and Ministro Ministries separately. Leja and the Liberty Institute have asked the charges to be dismissed.
