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Appellate Court Allows Church Parking Lot Over Historical Preservation Objections

By Howard M. Friedman

In Friends of The Bethany Place, Inc. v. City of Topeka, (KS Ct. App., Jan. 22, 2010), the Kansas Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, upheld the decision of the Topeka City Council to allow Grace Episcopal Cathedral to build a parking lot on a tract in downtown Topeka that is listed on the Register of Historic Kansas Places. The State Historical Preservation Officer opposed the project and the district court ruled against the project. (See prior posting.) However the Court of Appeals reversed, finding that the district court improperly "went beyond the record and reweighed the evidence before the Council in finding what it considered to be feasible and prudent alternatives to the Church's proposed project." Judge Greene dissented, saying that he "would affirm the district court's decision setting aside the Council's action as arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable."

Full post as published by Religion Clause on January 24, 2010 (boomark / email).