CV NEWS FEED // The Diocese of Boise, Idaho is threatening legal action against Boise’s city council in response to the city’s prevention of a new building for diocesan administrative offices.
According to a diocesan news release, the Diocese submitted an application to build the offices, which would be known as the “Diocesan Chancery,” to the city council earlier this year. The application was denied on April 16 based on a development agreement formed with the previous owners, which would require the Chancery to be a mixed-use building that includes housing.
The Diocese had acquired the proposed building site in October 2020 and had begun fulfilling the city’s requirements to obtain the necessary permits. According to the news release, the city council had been approving of the Chancery and had said that the development agreement would not affect the proposed building’s use up until the council’s sudden decision to deny the application in April.
After considering the council’s comments, the Diocese modified the plans to include a new public-use space on the first floor and submitted another request for the offices, which the council will reconsider on August 20.
The piece of land in dispute sits in downtown Boise and was vacant for a long time. When the diocese acquired the property, the city council attached to it a list of requirements many considered unrealistic, such as the inclusion of a commercial area as well as affordable housing.
Several realtors in the city have stated that such unrealistic requirements would not find an investor interested in the property, which by being vacant at the heart of the city, does not contribute to the urban vision the city council claims it wants to reflect.
Through its lawyers, the Diocese also sent a letter to Boise Mayor Lauren McLean and the city council commissioners outlining the state and federal religious exercise laws that could be infringed upon should the council reject the application again.
“City regulations that require the Diocese to include housing substantially burden the Diocese’s religious exercise according to state and federal law, FERPA [Free Exercise of Religion Protected Act] and RLUIPA [Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act],” the Diocese summarized the letter in the news release. “The same arguments apply to the City Council’s desire for the proposed Chancery to include mixed-use, such as retail space.”
The Diocese’s lawyers concluded the letter by pointing out that both FERPA and RLUIPA allow affected parties to seek legal action and permit courts to grant “appropriate relief against a government.”
