Church Says City Violated 1st Amendement Rights

A local church has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Fredercksburg, alleging that the City Council's denial of a special-use permit to operate a school for children with emotional and mental disabilities violates anti-discrimination laws and infringes upon the church's freedom of religious expression. A statement issued by the city attorney's office refutes the allegations, saying that the denial was the result of concerns over the applicant's history of zoning violations and safety concerns of locating the day school in the same facility as a before-and-after-school day care facility. 

The lawsuit, filed by attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund on behalf of Calvary Christian Center, located at 2222 Jefferson Davis Highway, centers on the church's efforts to provide a home for the Fairwinds Day School. The school, which has been in operation since 2009, serves students diagnosed with conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder induced by child abuse, bi-polar disorder, speech and language impairments, and other mental and emotional disabilities. The school would operate from the second floor with hours between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.

The church also hosts at the same facility a before-and-after-school day care, which operates on the first floor from 6 to 8:15 a.m. and from 3:30 to 6 p.m. 

The application received the recommendation of city staff and the unanimous approval of the Fredericksburg Planning Commission. From there, the application was taken before the City Council, which has the final say in awarding special-use permits. The City Council debated the matter over three meetings on Oct. 26, Nov. 9 and Nov. 23 of last year, before the application was defeated by a vote of 3-3, with Councilor Fred Howe abstaining. Vice Mayor Greenlaw and Councilors Kerry Devine and Brad Ellis voted against the application; Mayor  Thomas Tomzak, Councilor George Solley and Councilor Bea Paolucci voted for it. 

The lawsuit highlights comments made by Ellis during the proceedings, which the church views as discriminatory in nature. 

For instance, during the Nov. 9 City Council meeting, the lawsuit quotes Ellis asking if it is safe to operate a special needs day school within the same facility as a day care. 

"Kids from these backgrounds can often have significant outbursts that can greatly disturb or even harm the younger children in the daycare setting," the lawsuit quotes Ellis. 

At that meeting, Ellis also told the council that he had spoken with parents of children enrolled in the before-and-after-school day care facility who reported that the risk of harm to their children at the hands of special needs students was "a constant concern." 

At the next meeting, church leaders tried to reassure the City Council that the risk of interaction between students at the day care facility and the day school would be minimal, noting that the two schools operated at different times and on different floors of the building. 

Still, Ellis persisted with his line of reasoning. The lawsuit quotes Ellis as saying that there was nothing to stop the day school students from intermingling with the day care students "ever, ever, ever", and says that the church should discontinue the day care if it wanted to pursue the day school.

Soon after, the council voted on the matter, but the unusual 3-3 tie meant that the application was defeated. 

The church, in its lawsuit, says that its First Amendment right to freedom of religious expression is impaired from going about its ministry to serve children and the mentally disabled. 

The church's lawsuit has been taken on by the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian non-profit organization that defends issues of religious liberty. 

“Churches shouldn’t be singled out for discrimination, especially when attempting to expand their ministries to safely serve the needs of the community—in this case, disabled children,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. “No disabled students would even be on campus at the same time as other students, and the church has the approval of planning officials because it has met all zoning requirements to run such a facility.  There’s no legitimate reason for a denial, so the city’s stated reasons only serve to feed old stereotypes about the disabled."

A statement issued on Friday by the Fredericksburg City Attorney's Office refutes the allegations.  

"It selectively samples the public meeting record to paint an unfair and erroneous picture of discrimination," reads the statement. "Councilors were concerned about Fair Winds' history of zoning violations - it had recently operated at two locations in College Heights without obtaining zoning approval for either location - and the potential conflicts and safety issues that could arise from locating the special day school in the same facility as a before-and-after-school day care for 32 children ages six through 12."

The City Council is slated to

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division on May 23. Matthew Fender of Richmond will represent Calvary Christian Center for the ADF. Representing the city is Jennifer Parrish and Medford J. Brown of the Fredericksburg law firm Parrish, Houck & Snead. The city's litigation defense costs are covered by insurance.