In a stinging 36-page opinion, a federal judge Tuesday ordered a temporary halt to the city of Cypress' plan to condemn church property in order to make way for a tax-generating Costco.
"The framers of the Constitution ... might be surprised to learn that the power of eminent domain was being used to turn the property over to a private discount retail corporation," U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter wrote.
The ruling in favor of Cottonwood Christian Center's request for a preliminary injunction is the first peek at the judge's leanings in a national test case that weighs a city's redevelopment rights against a church's free exercise of religion.
In issuing the injunction, the judge said the 4,000-member megachurch has demonstrated a "likelihood of success" in its lawsuit, filed in January, against the city. He concluded that both major prongs of the church's legal argument had merit: that the city lacked a "compelling state interest" to condemn Cottonwood's 18 acres of vacant property near the Los Alamitos Race Course for a private interest, and that the city had infringed on the church's freedom of religion.
"Even if [the city] had compelling reasons to burden Cottonwood's religious exercise, they must do so in the least restrictive means," Carter said. "Far from doing that, the city has done the equivalent of using a sledgehammer to kill an ant."
City officials downplayed the significance of the judge's order, saying they already have voluntarily suspended condemnation proceedings while trying to work out a land swap with Cottonwood. They also said the issues will be raised again when the church's lawsuit against the city goes to trial, which is scheduled for March.
"What this does is perpetuate the status quo," City Atty. William Wynder said. "The next step is getting this case to trial."
But Cottonwood attorney Kevin J. Hasson said the ruling will have far-reaching implications.
"In the bigger picture, this sends a signal across the nation that it's not right to take a church's property," said Hasson, president of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a Washington-based group that concentrates on religious freedom.
The two sides have been fighting for nearly two years over property at the corner of Walker Street and Katella Avenue, the busiest intersection in the city's 300-acre redevelopment zone.
