Religious ministry for former prisoners cannot be zoned out

The state Supreme Court concluded today that a zoning ordinance that effectively prevented a halfway house ministry for men who have been in prison from operating inside the city limits of Sinton violates the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The decision in Barr, et al. v. City of Sinton marks the first time the Supreme Court has interpreted the TRFRA, which the Texas Legislature enacted in 1999. Justice Nathan Hecht, author of the opinion in Barr, wrote for the unanimous court, “TRFRA does not immunize religious conduct from government regulation; it requires the government to tread carefully and lightly when its actions substantially burden religious exercise.” The Supreme Court found in Barr that Ordinance 1999-02 substantially burdened Pastor Rick Barr’s free exercise of his religion. As noted in the opinion, the ordinance prevents Barr from operating his halfway house ministry in two homes he owned adjacent to his church. But, because Sinton is such a small city, there is no evidence of any alternate location in Sinton where the ordinance would have allowed Barr to operate his ministry, Hecht wrote. The city failed to show it has a compelling interest in having the ordinance or that the ordinance is the least restrictive means of furthering that interest, according to the opinion. Read my story on oral arguments in the case here.
-- Mary Alice Robbins