Posted on Thu, Apr. 14, 2005
R E L A T E D L I N K S
• Read the letter
HOLLYWOOD CHABAD
Feds put city on defensive in its battle with synagogue
The Justice Department intends to sue Hollywood over its dispute with the Hollywood Community Synagogue Chabad Lubavitch unless the city agrees to settle.
BY JERRY BERRIOS
[email protected]
An Orthodox Jewish synagogue gained a powerful ally Wednesday when the U.S. Department of Justice told Hollywood that it plans to sue the city over a dispute with the synagogue.
The Justice Department told Hollywood City Attorney Dan Abbott that it believes the city violated a federal law that prohibits governments from making land use and zoning decisions that discriminate against religious groups.
''I don't know why the department has reached the tentative conclusion they have,'' Abbott said. ''. . . It is obviously a disappointing development.''
The Hollywood Community Synagogue Chabad Lubavitch has been seeking to stay permanently in two Hollywood Hills homes since May 2001, causing an uproar in the neighborhood.
In June 2003, a majority of city commissioners denied permission for the synagogue to stay there, one of the events leading up to the federal government's decision to enter the legal fray.
The Justice Department will delay filing the suit if Hollywood is willing to settle the matter, according to the letter. The city has until April 25 to respond. Abbott said he will set up a closed-door session with city commissioners to discuss next steps.
Abbott said the city has abided by local, state and federal laws in its dealings with the Orthodox synagogue.
CITIZENS UPSET
Hollywood Hills residents have complained about noise, garbage, traffic and parking problems at the synagogue. They also argue that the synagogue cannot legally operate in a residential neighborhood.
Synagogue members say they have been harassed by the city and have lost members because of the treatment.
According to the city's law, houses of worship can only operate in a residential neighborhood with special permission. The city and the synagogue have been embroiled in legal wranglings in federal and state court. The U.S. Justice Department started its investigation in October 2003, after an Oct. 16 letter from Hollywood City Manager Cameron Benson ordering the worship center to stop operating.
In 2003, the synagogue also faced foreclosure, but has since regained control of its two houses at 2215 and 2221 N. 46th Ave.
Last September, the Chabad sued Hollywood and Commissioner Sal Oliveri, as an individual, in federal court alleging that they violated the synagogue's civil rights.
Last month, a federal judge ruled that Commissioner Sal Oliveri will remain a defendant in the federal suit.
The synagogue could seek compensatory and possibly punitive damages against Oliveri and the city.
''I believe that the city of Hollywood should give serious reconsideration to its unlawful practices, which have been and continue to be rubber-stamped by its city attorney,'' said Franklin Zemel, an attorney for the synagogue. ''The city's unlawful activities have caused substantial damages to the synagogue and the city faces substantial punitive damages.''
KEY CONCESSION
In a similar dispute, Key Biscayne's Village Council allowed a temple to operate out of a residence, a use not allowed in the village's zoning code. The council used a provision under the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which Congress passed in 2000 -- the same law cited by the Justice Department in its letter to Hollywood.
The law has already been tested in South Florida courts. In 2004, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Surfside violated the federal law protecting religious groups when the city blocked two Orthodox Jewish congregations from holding prayer services within the town's two-block business district.
That decision marked the first time a house of worship had won a federal appeal based on the federal law. The Justice Department also got involved in that case.
Herald staff writer Jay Weaver contributed to this report.
