Los Angeles, CA - The Los Angeles City Council has agreed to pay $950,000 to an Orthodox Jewish congregation to settle a 2010 lawsuit which grew out of a decades-old zoning dispute over the use of a residential property as a synagogue.
The LOS ANGELES TIMES (http://bit.ly/17rPWl3) reports that the council voted unanimously to settle the case with Congregation Etz Chaim after a U.S. District Court judge issued an injunction in May allowing the congregation to use the building as a synagogue.
The roots of the dispute date back to 1996 when the city originally denied an application from the congregation for a zoning variance to use the the over-sized residence located at 3rd Street and Highland Avenue as a house of worship.
At the time, the city cited traffic concerns as a reason, along with concerns that a synagogue would detract from the character of the other “stately” homes in the area.
Following a second permit rejection, Etz Chaim sued the city in 2010 claiming the rejection violated federal laws prohibiting governments from “imposing land-use regulations that intrude on exercises of religion.”
U.S. District Court Judge Christina A. Snyder ruled in favor of Etz Chaim in 2011.
“It’s the final, absolute resolution of a long-brewing struggle,” said Councilman Paul Krekorian.
Some believe the settlement may have a ripple effect involving another local case in which some San Fernando Valley residents have filed suit attempting to block Chabad of North Hollywood from replacing its aging Chandler Boulevard synagogue with a new one.
