Land Use—BZA Permitted Slight Expansion of Synagogue, Creation of Parking Lot and Removal of a Restrictive Covenant Which Precluded Weekday Services, for a One Year Trial Period—Religious Institution Entitled to Expand in Residential Areas, Subject to Reasonable Restrictions—Federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA)
The petitioner had commenced an Article 78 proceeding against a Village Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA). The court dismissed the petition. The petitioner was a property owner and neighbor of a synagogue. The synagogue owned three lots. In 2005, the BZA granted the synagogue permission to construct a synagogue (2005 decision). The 2005 decision included covenants that “prohibited vehicular traffic on Friday nights and Saturdays and,…, precluded use…on weekdays, except for certain Jewish holidays which fell during the week” (restrictive covenant).
