Posted on 07/06/2012 7:42:42 PM PDT by Altariel
We’ve told you before about government regulations hampering home Bible studies, but this story is even more pervasive, perplexing and complicated than the others. Michael Salman, who lives in Phoenix, Ariz., has been sentenced to a startling 60 days in jail, given a $12,180 fine and granted three years probation for refusing to stop hosting Bible studies at his home. Why, you ask? He‘s apparently in violation of the city’s building code laws.
(Related: Calif. City Changes Zoning Code to Allow Home Bible Study After Couple Was Fined)
City officials claim that he’s running an operation that is reminiscent of a home church — but without the required permits. And according to Fox’s Todd Starnes, Phoenix court documents show that he violated 67 codes. Unless the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals grants an emergency injunction, he will be jailed as early as next week.
Naturally, Salman believes the court’s findings amount to a crackdown on faith and religion. The city maintains that the penalties are legitimate based on the zoning laws he and his family have violated. However, Starnes was apparently unable to reach the Phoenix prosecutor’s office, the mayor’s office or code enforcement to obtain further comment.
“They’re cracking down on religious activities and religious use. They’re attacking what I, as a Christian, do in the privacy of my home,” he said in an interview with Starnes. “If I had people coming to my home on a regular basis for poker night or Monday Night Football, it would be permitted. But when someone says to us we are not allowed to gather because of religious purposes, that is when you have discrimination.”
Starnes goes on to provide an overview that recaps how the dispute first started between Salman and the city:
The long-running feud between Salman and the City of Phoenix culminated in the summer of 2009 when nearly a dozen police along with city inspectors raided their home. Armed with a search warrant, police confined the Salman family to the living room as they combed the property looking for violations.
Salman is the owner of Mighty Mike’s Burgers — and he is also an ordained pastor. He and his wife have been hosting Bible studies on their 4.6-acre property since 2005. The gatherings were originally attended by as many as 15 people.
In 2007, they received a letter from the city informing them that the Bible studies were not permitted in their living room because it was in violation of the construction code.
A few months later, members of the Phoenix Fire Dept. broke up the family’s Good Friday fellowship. As many as 20 people were in their backyard eating a meal when firefighters threatened to call the police – unless their guests left the premises.
Watch Salman and his wife discuss their legal battle, below:
And this was only the beginning. In 2008, the fire department came back again, and Salman ordered officials off of his property. The town then decided to ignore him — that is until he and his family built a structure in their back hard. The family, having secured the proper building permits, then moved the Bible studies to this new building.
It was then that the real drama unfolded. Officials came in and found 67 code violations. From a failure to post exit signs to a lack of handicap signs, Phoenix officials left no stone unturned. Now, the Christian Bible-study leader could spend some time behind bars — unless federal judges intervene.
Read more about his struggle on Fox News Radio.
“What kind of business, what hours, how often, how many people?”
No business should be allowed to operate in a neighborhood of single-family homes. So, no hours. None. No customers in residential neighborhoods.
Not enforcing zoning is how you end up with ten beaters waiting at the curb for the mechanic who works out of his home garage. And all the attendant noise. Why should that guy be forced out when it’s okay for the people next door to run a church? If he “worships” cars... does that make it okay for the neighbors?
And made no mistake, church congregants are customers. They park. They pay. Churches are businesses, albeit tax exempt businesses.
If anyone can come up with a cogent argument why the homeowners in my neighborhood, the ones who found themselves quite suddenly living next door to a church, why they should just shut up and respect the “freedom of religion” of those who don’t respect private property rights (and that’s what we’re talking about, really) or law and order (because that’s what zoning laws are: the law), I’d love to hear it.
They are trying to have it both ways - if thee preacher cannot run a church on their property as per zoning regulations then how can they be booked for building code regulations that would only apply to a business or a church. Someone doesn’t like this preacher and is out to get him.
Mel
Down on the Animal Farm, some religions are more equal than others. The “Religion of Peace” gets to sleep in the farmer’s house. Christians get the barn. OINK!
From what I read the man want to have public meetings three times a week in a 2,000 square foot building, which has a pulpit and chairs for as many as 40 people, which he built after obtaining a a permit to convert a garage into a game room.
The city of Phoenix forbids any other occupancy or use, which can be sticky (what if they played Bible games), but the man apparently could have a church there if he complied with the normal requirements for such.
The question is whether the state has a legit interest is not only insuring homes are safely built, but that meeting houses of a certain size can require more safety features.
And at what size or frequency does having regular meetings for any purpose at your house require these extra requirements.
These are legit questions as i see them, and both sides need to be reasonable, with tolerance but not compromise, which can be a grey area.
Too many cars left out on the street, which is understandable when you have anywhere from 20-40 people showing up at a time, there’s no way that won’t draw attention when done on a weekly basis.
I was not responding to the original article; I was responding to a poster (not you) who claimed that, under the First Amendment, building and zoning codes can never apply to churches. That proposition simply isn't true, and I selected an extreme example to illustrate that.
OK.
Well, and this will get me in trouble, but I don't see why churches should be exempt from the same property taxes that everyone else pays. It's not infringing on anyone's right to worship by expecting their facility to contribute to the costs of the local infrastructure as do the rest of us. There is nothing anti religious in expecting them to carry their share of the costs. As long as all are treated the same as any commercial property.
“Phoenix officials left no stone unturned”
Phoenix officials should get a life.
They should have stayed under the rocks they crawled out from!
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