For the third time in three decades the Village of Airmont in Rockland County has been compelled to stop discriminating against Orthodox Jews.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the village signed off on a consent decree last month requiring the removal of zoning regulations that limit the use of private homes for religious services. U.S. District Court Judge Nelson S Román endorsed the agreement on Oct. 19.
Airmont was founded in 1991 and, according to its website, “its culture is represented by people of all races and creeds.”
But the U.S. Attorney’s Office sued the village that year claiming that the founders had intentionally excluded Orthodox Jews by adopting zoning laws that precluded them from using their homes for prayer services.
In 1996, a federal jury ruled that Airmont had engaged in discrimination and the court ordered the village to create a new zoning category, Residential Places of Worship.
In 2005, the village denied an application to build a yeshiva on the basis that zoning prohibited student housing, according to a press release issued in the new case by U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, even though other projects with a residential component were allowed.
The federal government sued, and in 2011 Airmont agreed to amend its zoning code to allow housing at educational institutions.
In 2017, the Preserve Airmont political group won village elections and in 2018 a new administration replaced the Residential Places of Worship zoning category with Residential Places of Assembly. The new regulations required a special permit, according to Williams’s press release, and “imposed an onerous and restrictive review process for … applications.”
Religious groups challenged the new land use policies in a federal lawsuit filed in 2018, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office sued in 2020 under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.
In signing the new consent decree, the village did not admit any allegations. Instead, the government and village stated their wish to avoid protracted and unnecessary litigation.
Airmont agreed to not implement any land use restrictions that impose a substantial burden on religious exercise unless it can demonstrate a compelling government interest.
It may not bar assembly on the basis of a religion or treat religious assembly differently than nonreligious assembly.
It must restore the Residential Places of Worship land use category and treat it as a right in all residential districts.
The consent decree took effect immediately. It expires in five years but the federal government can ask the court to extend the deadline.
The government agreed to dismiss its lawsuit, but it may ask the court to reinstate the case if it determines that Airmont has failed to make good-faith efforts to comply with the decree.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Kennedy handled the case for the government. Nassau attorney Leo Dorfman represented the village.
