Judge says zoning laws can't prevent addition at yeshiva

WHITE PLAINS — A federal judge has upheld the controversial Religious Land Use Act, holding that the Village of Mamaroneck’s zoning laws cannot be used to block a Jewish school’s new 44,000-square-foot building. Judge William Conner, who has handled the case since 2002 and held a trial in November, found in a decision made public on March 3 that the village zoning board must approve an application from the Westchester Day School for construction on its property in Mamaroneck’s upscale Orienta Point neighborhood. Conner said the denial “was so contrary to the evidence and to the equities as to be arbitrary and capricious.” He said the federal law was violated because the school proved that the village’s action “substantially burdened its religious exercise” and the village failed to prove that it had no other remedy. The board had raised issues of traffic, parking, esthetics and property values in battling the application from the 400-student school, but the judge said the concerns were insufficient. However, Conner stayed his order pending an appeal to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, acknowledging that there have been different interpretations on the scope of the law. The law restricts local governments’ power to block the expansion of religious institutions. Kevin Plunkett, Mamaroneck’s attorney in the case, said the judge’s suggestion of an appeal made the ruling “a veiled victory for the village,” though he expressed disappointment with the bottom line. He said he was recommending an appeal and the village’s “initial reaction is to appeal.” Lawyers for both sides said the case could reach the Supreme Court and is being watched around the country. The federal government is currently suing the Rockland County village of Airmont, alleging that its ban on boarding schools violates the religious freedom of Hasidic Jews. Plunkett said Conner “is pretty much saying that any religious school is exempt from zoning and we contend that cannot be the case.”