Elsinore Christian Center v. City of Lake Elsinore

AMENDED ORDER GRANTING IN PART DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, AND DENYING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT.

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiffs Elsinore Christian Center and Church member Gary Holmes (collectively “Church” or “Plaintiffs”) brought this action against Defendants the City of Lake Elsinore and five individual members of the City Council (collectively “City” or “Defendants”) after the Lake Elsinore Planning Commission denied the Church’s application for a conditional use permit (“CUP”) to operate a church on 217 N. Main Street, Lake Elsinore, California (the “Subject Property,” “Property,” or “Site”).

On June 23, 2003, the Court issued an Order granting summary judgment for Defendants as to Plaintiffs’ Second Cause of Action under 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc(a) (Section 2(a) of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUI-PA”)). The June 23 Order held that Defendants’ denial of the CUP violated Section 2(a), but that the applicable basis for applying the provision was unconstitutional.

Plaintiffs moved for reconsideration of the June 23 Order, arguing that the Court had failed to consider whether a separate basis for applying Section 2(a)…