January 1, 1995 | Categories: Litigation | Tags: race, religion, Scio Township
#W95-47
Fountain Church of God in Christ v Scio Township
Scio Township
Fountain Church of God in Christ, an African-American church, attempted to purchase land zoned A-1 (agricultural) and have a conditional use permit issued in order to build a new church. On a 4-3 vote, and against the advice of their planning consultant, the Planning Commission denied the conditional use permit to Fountain COGIC. An investigation conducted by FHC found that Fountain Church was the only house of worship to be denied a conditional use permit by the Scio Township Planning Commission since 1978. Filed in Federal District Court by Cooperating Attorney Benjamin Whittfield, the case was assigned to Judge Avern Cohen.
Court: Federal
Settlement: $35,000