Miami churches take on county over meeting requirements
by Ed Thomas
February 23, 2007
(OneNewsNow.com) - - Two Christian groups in Miami are claiming that a county is violating their constitutional rights by requiring them to own a minimum land acreage in order to continue having religious meetings. Miami-Dade County does not require assembly-use businesses -- theaters and pool halls, for example -- to own a minimum amount of land to operate.International Outreach Center has been holding meetings at its facility for ten years, and Worldwide Agape Ministries is a home-based group. Both groups have been notified by Miami-Dade County officials that they can no longer continue having prayer and Bible study meetings unless they buy a minimum of 2.5 acres of land, even if only a few people are in attendance.
The two groups have filed a federal lawsuit together in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida through Alliance Defense Fund (ADF). The legal group says placing a minimum acreage requirement on religious ministries is unconstitutional when there is no similar restriction for assembly-use businesses like pool halls, theaters, and convention centers.
ADF senior legal counsel Joel Oster says the limitation placed on the two ministries "acts as a major roadblock, particularly since land in south Florida is so expensive."
