Judge clears way for Castle Rock church to provide shelter to unhoused people during legal action

The Rock Church will be allowed to continue offering temporary shelter on its site while its lawsuit against the Town of Castle Rock procedes in federal district court.

The church sued Castle Rock in May, arguing the town is violating the church’s religious freedom by prohibiting it from offering short-term shelter to people in need. 

The church has used an RV and a trailer on its property since 2019 to temporarily house people who otherwise would have nowhere to stay. Last year, town officials shut down the arrangement, arguing it was not permitted by the church’s zoning. 

The church hasn’t provided shelter since and asked the courts for an injunction that would reopen its temporary shelters.

U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Domenico granted that injunction on July 19. Domenico found that the town’s zoning enforcement may violate the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act by creating a substantial burden on the church’s religious belief that its ministry includes providing shelter to people in need on church property. 

The town had argued that the zoning is neutral and generally applicable, noting the church could find other ways to satisfy its religious obligations to provide for those in need, such as by providing hotel rooms or housing in other areas that are zoned for residential use.

Domenico said it’s not up to the town to define the church’s religious beliefs. 

“To the extent there is a dispute about whether the Church’s stated beliefs actually require it to provide shelter on its own property, there is no reason to second-guess the Church at this point, regardless of how idiosyncratic or mistaken the Town may find its beliefs to be,” Domenico wrote in the injunction.

Domenico also found that the town didn’t have a compelling reason to prevent the shelters because there have been no safety issues reported and the church is taking safety precautions, such as background checks. 

Domenico said the church demonstrated there would be irreparable harm if the injunction was not granted, noting the town hasn’t argued it would be materially harmed by allowing the temporary shelters. 

“The fact that the Church has already had to turn away homeless families in need, in violation of its sincerely held beliefs that it must serve and house them on its property, makes this harm all too clear,” he wrote. 

Domenico said the injunction is narrow and doesn’t apply to other kinds of housing the church may want to provide. The Rock Church had been planning to develop income-restricted housing on its site, but that project was paused after the Douglas County Housing Partnership ended its role in the project. 

“This injunction is limited to the facts of this case, which show that the Church has a large lot and the concomitant ability to keep its shelter at a distance from nearby residential areas, that its shelter only consists of two vehicles, and that it has received no complaints about drug use or experienced any crime as a result of its ministry,” Domenico wrote. 

Jeremy Dys, an attorney for the Rock Church from First Liberty Institute, said in a statement that the church is pleased with the court’s decision. 

“The court reopened the door of a caring church whose mission has always been to offer a warm environment for the homeless living on the cold, hard streets,” Dys said. 

The town has previously said that it doesn’t comment on ongoing litigation.