Unitarian Universalist Church of Minnetonka Reaches Legal Settlement with City of Wayzata
Church will build at its desired location and city will pay $500,000
WAYZATA, MINNESOTA, Wednesday, December, 28, 2011—The Unitarian Universalist Church of Minnetonka (UUCM) is pleased to announce that on Thursday, December 22, it reached a settlement of its lawsuit with the City of Wayzata, in which the church alleged that the city violated the Constitution and federal law by effectively prohibiting new churches from being built in the city. The settlement will allow UUCM to build a new church building at 2030 Wayzata Boulevard East in Wayzata, in accordance with the church’s 2008 development application, which the city had denied. In addition, as part of the settlement, the city and its insurer have agreed to pay UUCM $500,000, which will be used to cover the expenses incurred by the church related to the lawsuit as well as a portion of the legal fees of the attorneys who handled the case on behalf of the church.
“We have needed a new church building for many years. So we are very grateful that this settlement will allow us to finally build and remain in Wayzata, the community that we have called home for more than 50 years,” said Alison Albrecht, a UUCM member and spokesperson. “We look forward to finalizing the settlement with the city and to working with our Wayzata neighbors to appropriately address any concerns that arise as we move toward construction. Importantly, we also hope the city will now change its regulations so that other religious groups are no longer prevented from locating here.”
UUCM’s more than 200 members have worshipped at 605 Rice Street in Wayzata—a facility built nearly 100 years ago—since 1965. In 2008, the city denied the church’s request to build a new facility at 2030 Wayzata Boulevard East. After nearly two years of attempting to work cooperatively with the city, in March 2010 the church filed a federal lawsuit arguing that the city’s restrictions of religious land use violated the church’s First Amendment rights to free speech and religious worship as well as federal statutory protections of religious land use. Under Wayzata’s zoning regulations, churches may be built on less than 1 percent of property in the city. The church believes that it is unlawful to restrict religious worship to this degree.
“The church sought to work with the city since 2008 and it is unfortunate that the city left the church with no alternative other than a lawsuit to resolve this matter,” said Sam Diehl, an attorney representing the church in the lawsuit. “The freedom to worship is fundamental in our country. While a lawsuit could have been avoided if the city had approved the church’s application to build in 2008, we hope that this suit promotes greater religious liberty in Wayzata and in other cities that hear about this lawsuit.”
Attorneys for the church and the city made their respective arguments before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Richard H. Kyle on November 29, 2011. After hearing the arguments, the court ordered the parties to a settlement conference (the second such conference in this lawsuit) on December 22. Judge Kyle had stated that he intended to issue his ruling within 30 days after the November 29 hearing if the parties did not reach a settlement.
“From the beginning our position with the city has been that the law is clear and it appropriately protects the freedom to assemble and worship,” said Diehl. “We are confident that this significant settlement, coming just before Judge Kyle’s ruling, will encourage Wayzata and other cities to recognize these fundamental rights in the future.”
The parties agreed that their formal settlement agreement will be finalized by January 16, 2012. The city will then process and approve a development action over the next several months, before the church finally ends the lawsuit 30 days after approval.