{"id":6726,"date":"2024-11-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.charming-bohr.160-238-31-172.plesk.page\/index.php\/2024\/11\/01\/homeless-at-the-rock\/"},"modified":"2024-11-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-11-01T00:00:00","slug":"homeless-at-the-rock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.charming-bohr.160-238-31-172.plesk.page\/index.php\/2024\/11\/01\/homeless-at-the-rock\/","title":{"rendered":"Homeless at The Rock"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Colorado church goes to court after its homeless program is derailed by a town\u2019s zoning regulations.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Ukrainian family of 10 faced a housing crisis in the U.S. state of Colorado.<\/span><\/p>\n

The father didn\u2019t have a job. The mother couldn\u2019t work because she was caring for their eight children. The local county, which had been providing shelter, could no longer help, and the nearest town, Castle Rock, didn\u2019t have a homeless shelter. The family couldn\u2019t return to Ukraine because their hometown, Kherson, was under near-constant Russian bombardment.<\/span><\/p>\n

The family urgently contacted The Rock, a nondenominational church in Castle Rock, a town of 80,000 people located about 30 miles south of Denver.<\/p>\n

The Rock\u2019s lead pastor, Michael Polhemus, sprang into action. During two days he moved the family into a white RV parked on his church\u2019s property.<\/p>\n

The refugee family had few belongings to bring.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I went to pick them up, each had a small bag, and that was all,\u201d Polhemus said in an interview.<\/p>\n

The family was fortunate to find shelter at The Rock in September. For eight months the town of Castle Rock had barred the church from sheltering people without homes. Then a court had stepped in.<\/p>\n

The Rock is among a broader group of U.S. faith communities that have seen zoning regulations used to hinder their attempts to shelter or feed the homeless. The cases are so common that Congress in 2000 passed the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), a federal law aimed at protecting individuals and religious institutions from discriminatory and overly burdensome land-use regulations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Towns say they are simply enforcing their laws. But churches say no legislation should be able to override God-mandated instructions to care for poor individuals, and, armed with RLUIPA and the First Amendment<\/span> <\/span>right of religious expression, they have mounted legal challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWin or lose, the main goal is that God be glorified in what we do,\u201d Polhemus said.<\/p>\n

A Complex Backstory<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Rock\u2019s troubles stretch back to an agreement that it struck with Castle Rock in acquiring its 54-acre property in 2003. The church agreed to zoning regulations that barred people from living on the land. Church leadership also specifically confirmed that the zoning regulations were not overly burdensome.<\/p>\n

The Rock church is using two RVs to provide temporary shelter for vulnerable individuals and families.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Polhemus, an engineer-turned-pastor who joined the church in 2014, readily acknowledged that The Rock accepted the zoning regulations back in 2003. But he also said that community needs had changed over the intervening years, and the zoning regulations had become overly burdensome.<\/p>\n

As a new pastor, Polhemus said he noticed a growing need for temporary, emergency shelter in the community, and the church housed its first residents in a red camper trailer in 2016. The RV later joined the camper trailer in the back of the church\u2019s parking lot.<\/p>\n

To stay on church property, residents have to clear a third-party background check. They are also required to pledge to stay away from drugs or other destructive behavior and, if unemployed, to seek work. The church has case managers to help.<\/p>\n

Ten to 15 families have stayed in the RV and camper trailer during the past seven years, Polhemus said. He added that a small hill largely obstructs the view of the RV and camper trailer from the neighbors\u2019 homes in an adjacent neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe closest that the RV is to one of the homes is 300 feet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, Castle Rock authorities contacted the church after neighbors, voicing worries about their personal safety and property values, complained in March 2021. Two years of talks failed to reach a resolution, and on December 7, 2023, town leaders banned the church from housing people. In making their decision, town leaders stressed that they were following the law and reminded the church that it had not only accepted the zoning regulations in 2003 but had also confirmed that they were not overly burdensome. Liberty <\/i>magazine listened to an audio recording of the Board of Adjustment meeting on the town\u2019s website. The meeting, which was scheduled to last an hour, ended up running more than two hours.1<\/sup><\/p>\n

The Rock went to court, and a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction that sided with the church\u2019s First Amendment and RLUIPA arguments.<\/p>\n

\u201cI find that the zoning regulations at issue here substantially burden the church\u2019s ability to exercise its religious beliefs,\u201d U.S. District Court Judge Daniel D. Domenico wrote on July 19, 2024.2<\/sup><\/p>\n

Domenico backed a church argument that it had a biblical injunction to serve the homeless on its property.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe church responds that its religious beliefs don\u2019t just obligate it to provide for the needy in some general way; they obligate it to provide for the needy on church property<\/i>. Specifically, the church points to Leviticus 25:35, 36, which urges Christians to allow the poor to \u2018continue to live among you<\/i>,\u2019\u2005\u201d he said, using italics to emphasize the words. \u201cThe church stresses that by preventing it from allowing the homeless to live on its property, the town is precluding the church from exercising its religious beliefs regardless of whether it might be possible to provide for the needy in some other way.\u201d<\/p>\n

First Liberty, a nonprofit Christian legal organization representing The Rock, expressed optimism that the church would ultimately triumph.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe case isn\u2019t over,\u201d said Jeremy Dys, senior counsel for First Liberty. \u201cBut the court is signaling that the church has got a good shot at winning this lawsuit based upon the evidence that it has seen preliminarily.\u201d<\/p>\n

Castle Rock\u2019s administration declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation. \u201cThe town does not have any comments at this time,\u201d the town\u2019s communications manager, Melissa Hoelting, said by email.<\/p>\n

The case now is in the discovery phase, and a trial is expected in 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot in My Backyard\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Rock is far from alone in finding its religious activities at odds with municipal zoning regulations, said Alan J. Reinach, a veteran religious liberty lawyer, who saw two of his cases cited in the Congressional Record<\/i> when RLUIPA was passed in 2000.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a common problem, especially when it comes to a homeless ministry. It\u2019s NIMBYism,\u201d said Reinach, who is not involved with The Rock\u2019s lawsuit. \u201cEveryone says they want to do something for the homeless, but when someone actually tries to do something, the response is \u2018Let\u2019s do it, but not here.\u2019\u2005\u201d<\/p>\n

Reinach said he has seen the not-in-my-backyard attitude practiced by municipal authorities who campaign on promises to help the needy but, once in office, use zoning regulations to block faith groups\u2019 homeless programs. Citing his own experience, he said such cases can be little more than a municipal power play.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people in government want to show their puny bureaucratic power, they do it, and it doesn\u2019t matter to them what the consequences are . . . or how much it might cost the government,\u201d Reinach said.<\/p>\n

The cost can be significant. In September 2024 the city of Brookings, Oregon, agreed to pay $400,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by St. Timothy\u2019s Episcopal Church over restrictions to its free meals program to the homeless. The city, citing zoning regulations, had imposed the limits after neighbors complained about a growing homeless population in the area in 2021. A federal judge ruled in favor of St. Timothy\u2019s in March, saying the city had imposed a substantial burden on its religious exercise.3<\/sup><\/p>\n

St. Timothy\u2019s Episcopal Church v. City of Brookings<\/i> was monitored by the U.S. Justice Department, <\/sup>which has opened more than 155 formal investigations and filed nearly 30 lawsuits and 36 briefs connected to RLUIPA since the law was passed in 2000, according to its website.4<\/sup><\/p>\n

The Justice Department also is keeping an eye on an ongoing case in which the town of San Luis, Arizona, has used zoning regulations to prevent Gethsemani Baptist Church from operating a food ministry.5<\/sup><\/p>\n

First Liberty, in addition to defending the The Rock in Colorado, is also representing Gethsemani Baptist Church. And First Liberty is representing a church called \u201cDad\u2019s Place,\u201d which is accused of violating zoning regulations in the town of Bryan, Ohio, by opening its doors 24\/7 to people without homes.6<\/sup><\/p>\n

\u201cThis Is What We Do\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Back in Colorado, The Rock\u2019s conflict over housing the homeless has taken a toll on the church community. Some people have left the church, and others have pulled their children out of a school operated by the church, Polhemus said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been interesting to see how many people say, \u2018I\u2019m a follower of Jesus, I\u2019m a believer, and I want to help the poor, but just not here,\u2019\u2005\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had people leave the church. . . . People have left our school because they don\u2019t want to see the homeless on our property.\u201d<\/p>\n

The church, which had a peak of 3,500 members in 2012, now has 400 to 500 members and a regular Sunday attendance of about 250, he said.<\/p>\n

As the lawsuit played out in court this year, the church was forced to turn away two families. The pastor invited one of those families, from Venezuela, to stay in his home for four months.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had the six in my home with my family of five,\u201d Polhemus, 50, said in a Zoom interview from Castle Rock. His lawyer, Dys, joined the call from his office in Plano, Texas.<\/p>\n

Smiling, Polhemus recalled the challenge of trying to speak with the Venezuelan family. \u201cI learned Spanish,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Now, he said, he is learning Russian to speak with the Ukrainian family.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey speak Russian, so I\u2019m learning Russian as of now,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re a really neat family.\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled again as he remembered the excited faces of the eight Ukrainian children, ages 5 to 20, as he took them around the church to get supplies on their first day in the RV. The first stop was the food pantry, a church outreach program that Polhemus said distributed 450,000 pounds of food in 2023. Then Polhemus led the family to the \u201cBlessing Room,\u201d a room stocked with clothes and shoes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were able to pick out clothes; they had lost pretty much all that they had,\u201d he said. \u201cThey were giddy! They were running around, looking at clothes, trying them on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hours before speaking with Liberty<\/i>, Polhemus drove the Ukrainian father around town to apply for work documents. As they traveled, the father kept asking, \u201cWhy are you doing this?\u201d<\/p>\n

Polhemus said the question brought tears to his eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do this because you\u2019re a child of God,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n

Polhemus said that compassion for homeless individuals is a God-ordained mission for The Rock.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what we do,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are more than 2,000 Bible verses that talk about the poor. It\u2019s so clear that God has a heart and that He cares for the poor, so how can we not love those who are struggling and in need?\u201d<\/p>\n

1 Castle Rock Board of Adjustment Meeting, Recording, December 7, 2023: https:\/\/bit.ly\/4deKvwX.<\/p>\n

2 Preliminary injunction in Church of the Rock v. the Town of Castle Rock<\/i>: https:\/\/bit.ly\/4guoe0N.<\/p>\n

3 Decision in St. Timothy\u2019s Episcopal Church v. City of Brookings<\/i>: https:\/\/bit.ly\/4elLPPs.<\/p>\n

4 Justice Department statistics on RLUIPA: https:\/\/bit.ly\/4gzqu6U.<\/p>\n

5 Justice Department statement on Gethsemani Baptist Church v. City of San Luis<\/i>: https:\/\/bit.ly\/47vbJ0V.<\/p>\n

6 First Liberty statement on Dad\u2019s Place v. City of Bryan<\/i>: https:\/\/bit.ly\/3BcepEA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Colorado church goes to court after its homeless program is derailed by a town\u2019s zoning regulations. The Ukrainian family of 10 faced a housing crisis in the U.S. state of Colorado. The father didn\u2019t have a job. The mother couldn\u2019t work because she was caring for their eight children. The local county, which had<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[362],"tags":[194],"class_list":["post-6726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-november-december-2024","tag-november-december-2024"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.charming-bohr.160-238-31-172.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.charming-bohr.160-238-31-172.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.charming-bohr.160-238-31-172.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.charming-bohr.160-238-31-172.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.charming-bohr.160-238-31-172.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.charming-bohr.160-238-31-172.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6726\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.charming-bohr.160-238-31-172.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.charming-bohr.160-238-31-172.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.charming-bohr.160-238-31-172.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}