Anchor Stone Christian Church, a community of believers that ministers to first-generation Chinese Americans and is located in the Santa Ana and Orange County area, has found themselves wrapped up in a legal battle due to a plan to move to a brand new building. At first, when the plan was created, the City of Santa Ana backed the church, however, now they are citing zoning regulations as a reason why they have rejected the plans for the new building.
I bet if it was plans for The Satanic Temple folk the city would be practically slobbering all over themselves to get it approved and the work done as fast as possible. Or if it was an abortion clinic. Funny how it always seems like Christians are the ones who get singled out by government officials, especially in super liberal parts of the country.
“Anchor Stone started as a home prayer group in 2018. As the group began to spread the gospel to Chinese immigrants, it grew rapidly. Within a few years, the congregation became too large for a home and they began to look for a permanent location. The Church quickly found a building located in a suburban office park. In order to house Anchor Stone, minor renovations would be required as well as a permit from the city,” The Christian Tribune reported.
Before purchasing the building, church members approached city planners Steven Lee, the secretary of Anchor Stone Christian Church, recalls that initially there was no pushback. “So we’re thinking that, OK, then we’re just sending our application to the city without hesitations,” he reminisced. However, since then, negations have gone south and the city is blocking the church from meeting.
After the Church purchased the building, the city denied a permit to use it as a “religious assembly.” Despite being given the go-ahead by city planners, Santa Ana declined to approve the building permit. According to officials, “assembly” is not permitted under current zoning regulations. Anchor Stone made an appeal to the City Council, but their motion was denied.
A team of attorneys who are now representing the church are raising concerns that the city’s actions represent a violation of religious liberty. The legal team stated that they believe the church is protected under the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which is a federal law. With the lack of response Anchor Stone is seeing from officials, they are concerned they may have to file a lawsuit against the city.
In the RLUIPA, governments are barred from creating land use laws that pose “a substantial burden on the religious exercise of a person [or] … religious assembly.” The Government can restrict these rights, but only if there is “a compelling governmental interest.” Ryan Gardner, an attorney with First Liberty Institute who has taken the side of Anchor Stone, says the city failed to meet that standard.
Attorneys sent out a letter to the head of the city’s planning department that stated the Church has incurred heavy losses as a result of the plan’s rejection. Anchor Stone has allegedly lost over $575,000 thus far. They also say that the permit denial has caused a significant number of members to leave the church because they are frustrated with the pace of progress. And that has contributed to their loss of income. Add in property taxes and maintenance on the empty building and Anchor Stone’s finances are taking some very heavy hits.
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“One of the really ironic things about this is that there’s literally a church across the street. I think just common sense would say, if there’s a church across the street, then surely it’s OK to have a church here as well” says Gardner an attorney for First Liberty Institute. However Lee is hopeful; “We want to spread the gospel in the area,” he explained. “I believe that’s what Father gives us permission to do.”