MATHIEU BLACKSTON and LISA WEISS

Staff Writers

Churches in Lake Elsinore and Murrieta are citing a recently enacted federal law in challenging city efforts to stop them from moving into new facilities.

The issue could come to a head tonight in Lake Elsinore, where a local church that wants to move into a discount grocery store on Main Street is threatening legal action if the City Council doesn't give it permission to make the move.

The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 allows churches to locate where they want, even overriding cities' zoning ordinances and traffic concerns, says a lawyer representing churches in both cities. Area planners, however, have said the sites of the new churches might not jibe with their respective cities' land use plans.

In Murrieta, planners last month recommended denial of an application by Lamb's Fellowship church to move to a westside neighborhood, citing concerns about traffic. The Lamb's Fellowship wants to build a church, school and amphitheater complex in an area that is zoned rural-residential, where churches are permitted if they meet certain conditions.

At issue is whether those conditions impose an undue burden on the church - if having to pay to meet those conditions would take money away from funds the church uses to do its work, Murrieta City Attorney John Harper said. A public hearing has been postponed indefinitely until city planners can determine what conditions would need to be met, such as traffic control, so that the project could be approved.

In Lake Elsinore, the Elsinore Christian Center was denied a permit by the Planning Commission last month that would allow the church to move into the Food Smart Discount Grocery and recycling center on Main Street. Planning Commissioner John Barnes said he voted against the permit because he didn't want the city to lose commercial development.

He also said the discount grocer provides a valuable service to people in downtown Lake Elsinore who aren't able to shop elsewhere.

The church appealed the Planning Commission's decision to the City Council, which is scheduled to rule on the issue at 7 p.m. today in the Cultural Center, 183 N. Main Street.

According to the new federal law, an attorney for the Elsinore Christian Center said Monday, Lake Elsinore cannot prohibit the church from moving into the grocery store just because it wants to continue receiving the property and sales tax that a business in that location generates.

The owner of the grocery store and recycling center, Charleen Proctor, says she's not ready to move. She's on a month-to-month lease and has considered buying the facility from the owner, the Elsinore Naval and Military School, but the deal fell through because of disagreements over price.

Attorney for the church Robert Tyler, of Temecula, said the fact that the building the church wants to move into is currently a grocery store shouldn't be a factor in the city's decision.

He also said the city can't legally refuse the permits that would allow the church to move into the grocery store just because there would be a loss of tax revenue.

Tyler said the Planning Commission in essence discriminated against the church based on concerns that Elsinore Christian Center wouldn't generate tax dollars for the city.

He points to the new law, which was signed by President Clinton on Sept. 22. The law states no government can enact a land-use regulation that imposes a "substantial burden" on people practicing their religion.

He said the law also requires municipal zoning codes to allow churches and other religious institutions to be built where other secular meeting places like meeting halls and movie theaters are permitted.

In a letter written to council members, Tyler wrote that the church, which is on Graham Avenue just around the corner from Smart Foods, needs to stay in the downtown district because that's the area it serves.

He also stated that there's no other downtown facility for the church to move into. Its current location is too small and Elsinore Christian Center has already paid more than $27,000 toward the purchase of the property, including $5,000 to the city, Tyler said. The City Council's denial of a permit would therefore constitute a "substantial burden upon the religious exercise of the church and its members," he said.

Tyler said he feels confident the new law would supersede any local zoning regulations. He said his law firm, which is also representing the Lamb's Fellowship in Murrieta, would be willing to tackle the issue in court.

Murrieta officials were confident that the Lamb's Fellowship project could be approved without having to go to court.

But the lack of cases that have been tried using this law and its broad scope make determining what constitutes an undue burden difficult, Harper said.

"We expect to see this law used all across the country and hope we can be on the forefront in Southern California," Tyler said.

Contact staff writer Mathieu Blackston at (909) 676-4315, Ext. 2623 or mblackston@nctimes.com. Contact staff writer Lisa Weiss at (909) 676-4315, Ext. 2624, or lweiss@nctimes.com.

3/13/01