Thai Meditation Association of Alabama, Inc. v. City of Mobile, Alabama
Citation83 F.4th 922
Date Filed2023-10-02
Docket22-11674
Cited16 times
StatusPublished
Full Opinion (html_with_citations)
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[PUBLISH]
In the
United States Court of Appeals
For the Eleventh Circuit
____________________
No. 22-11674
____________________
THAI MEDITATION ASSOCIATION
OF ALABAMA, INC.,
(the “Center”),
SIVAPORN NIMITYONGSKUL,
VARIN NIMITYONGSKUL,
SERENA NIMITYONGSKUL,
PRASIT NIMITYONGSKUL,
Plaintiffs-Appellants,
versus
CITY OF MOBILE, ALABAMA,
Defendant-Appellee
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2 Opinion of the Court 22-11674
CITY OF MOBILE PLANNING
COMMISSION, et al.,
Defendants.
____________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Alabama
D.C. Docket No. 1:16-cv-00395-TFM-MU
____________________
Before WILSON, JILL PRYOR, Circuit Judges, and CONWAY,* District
Judge.
WILSON, Circuit Judge:
In this long-running property use dispute, the plaintiffs, the
Thai Meditation Association of Alabama and four of its organizers
(collectively, TMAA), seek to convert a property zoned for residen-
tial use into a meditation center. In Thai Meditation Association of
Alabama v. City of Mobile, 980 F.3d 821 (11th Cir. 2020) (TMAA I), we
reviewed the outcome of a bench trial that ended in judgment for
the City of Mobile on all counts. We affirmed in part but remanded
three counts for further consideration. Id. at 841. The vacated and
* Honorable Anne C. Conway, United States District Judge for the Middle Dis-
trict of Florida, sitting by designation.
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22-11674 Opinion of the Court 3
remanded claims consisted of: (1) a substantial burden challenge
under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act
(RLUIPA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc(a)(1); (2) a Free Exercise challenge
under the First Amendment; and (3) a state law challenge under
the Alabama Constitution’s Religious Freedom Amendment
(ARFA). On remand, the district court granted summary judgment
to the City on all three counts, and this appeal followed.
After careful review of the record and with the benefit of
oral argument, we conclude that summary judgment was im-
proper, for either party, on the RLUIPA claim; summary judgment
was proper on the Free Exercise claim; and the City has failed to
carry its burden to satisfy strict scrutiny on the ARFA claim. Ac-
cordingly, we VACATE in part, AFFIRM in part, and REVERSE
in part.
I. Background
The details of this case were thoroughly recounted in TMAA
I, so we only recount the facts essential to this decision. TMAA is
a Buddhist religious organization belonging to the Dhammakaya
school of Buddhism. TMAA’s “purpose is teaching and research
into growth and development of mind and spirit through medita-
tion and expanding the knowledge of Buddhism.” TMAA I, 980
F.3d at 826 (cleaned up). TMAA has been seeking a permanent
home in Mobile, Alabama for several years now. In 2007, it oper-
ated out of a converted house in a residential neighborhood. After
neighbors complained and TMAA was unable to obtain the proper
zoning authorization, it moved to its present location inside a
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4 Opinion of the Court 22-11674
shopping center. Because this location is on a commercial street
and shares a building with commercial businesses, TMAA alleges it
is far too loud and disruptive for them to meditate—that is, to prac-
tice their religion. TMAA also alleges their current location is too
small to allow them to hold classes to teach others about their reli-
gion. Id.
In Mobile, there are two zoning classifications relevant to
this appeal. The first is the R-1 zoning designation, which allows
for residential usage as of right and allows for other uses—like reli-
gious uses—subject to “planning approval” by the Planning Com-
mission. The second is the commercial zoning designation, which
allows certain uses—including religious uses—by right. TMAA’s
first location, the converted house, was in an R-1 district. TMAA’s
second and current location is in a commercial district.
In 2015, TMAA bought the house that is the subject of this
litigation, the Eloong Drive property. Like TMAA’s original loca-
tion, the Eloong Drive property is located in an R-1 residential dis-
trict and thus required planning approval to be put to a religious
use. Before purchasing the property, TMAA engaged in pre-ap-
proval meetings with City officials, and TMAA alleges they re-
ceived positive feedback on their preliminary plans. When TMAA
finally submitted its application, it received immense pushback
from the public. Many public comments focused on, and objected
to, the Buddhist character of TMAA’s proposed usage. Some ques-
tioned whether TMAA’s usage was even religious at all. Some
commentors objected to TMAA’s application because of concerns
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22-11674 Opinion of the Court 5
about compatibility and traffic in the small neighborhood in which
the Eloong Drive property is located. Ultimately, noting those
compatibility concerns, the Planning Commission denied TMAA’s
application, and the City Council denied TMAA’s appeal. This suit
followed.
TMAA alleged six counts against the City, and the district
court originally ruled in favor of the City on all six counts. In TMAA
I, we vacated the district court’s analysis of the RLUIPA substantial
burden claim, the Free Exercise claim, and the ARFA claim. 980
F.3d at 841. On remand, the parties filed cross-motions for sum-
mary judgment on these three counts. The district court again
granted summary judgment to the City on all three claims. We
address each of these in turn.
II. Standard of Review
We review the district court’s grant or denial of summary
judgment de novo, applying the same legal standard as the district
court. Seff v. Broward Cnty., 691 F.3d 1221, 1222–23 (11th Cir. 2012).
Summary judgment is proper where, construing all facts in favor
of the non-movant, there is no genuine issue of any material fact
and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id. at
1223. This appeal arises from the district court’s resolution of
cross-motions for summary judgment. “In practice, cross motions
for summary judgment may be probative of the nonexistence of a
factual dispute.” Ga. State Conf. of NAACP v. Fayette Cnty., 775 F.3d
1336, 1345 (11th Cir. 2015) (cleaned up) (quoting Shook v. United
States, 713 F.2d 662, 665 (11th Cir. 1983)). But we have cautioned
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that the mere filing of cross-motions “do[es] not automatically em-
power the court” to enter summary judgment for one party. Id.
(quoting La Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v.
Voigt, 700 F.2d 341, 349 (7th Cir. 1983)). Instead, the district court
must methodically take each motion in turn and construe all the
facts in favor of the non-movant for each. If, after engaging in this
analysis, the district court determines no genuine issue of material
fact exists, then it may appropriately enter summary judgment for
a party.
III. RLUIPA Substantial Burden
“Congress sought, through RLUIPA, to protect religious
land uses from discriminatory processes used to exclude or other-
wise limit the location of churches and synagogues in municipali-
ties across the country.” Midrash Sephardi, Inc. v. Town of Surfside,
366 F.3d 1214, 1236 (11th Cir. 2004). Under RLUIPA,
(a)(1) No government shall impose or implement a
land use regulation in a manner that imposes a sub-
stantial burden on the religious exercise of a person,
including a religious assembly or institution, unless
the government demonstrates that imposition of the
burden on that person, assembly, or institution—
(A) is in furtherance of a compelling governmental
interest; and
(B) is the least restrictive means of furthering that
compelling governmental interest.
42 U.S.C. § 2000cc(a)(1).
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Shortly after the passage of RLUIPA, we interpreted this
substantial burden provision in Midrash Sephardi. There, we held
that “a ‘substantial burden’ must place more than an inconvenience
on religious exercise; a ‘substantial burden’ is akin to significant
pressure which directly coerces the religious adherent to conform
his or her behavior accordingly.” Midrash Sephardi, 366 F.3d at
1227. In TMAA I, we applied this standard and clarified that “it isn’t
necessary for a plaintiff to prove . . . that the government required
her to completely surrender her religious beliefs; modified behavior,
if the result of government coercion or pressure, can be enough.”
TMAA I, 980 F.3d at 831. We then articulated six factors that the
district court should consider on remand.1
1 The non-exhaustive factors include: (1) “whether the plaintiffs have demon-
strated a genuine need for new or more space—for instance, to accommodate
a growing congregation or to facilitate additional services or programming”;
(2) “the extent to which the City’s decision, and the application of its zoning
policy more generally, effectively deprives the plaintiffs of any viable means
by which to engage in protected religious exercise”; (3) “whether there is a
meaningful ‘nexus’ between the allegedly coerced or impeded conduct and
the plaintiffs’ religious exercise”; (4) “whether the City’s decisionmaking pro-
cess concerning the plaintiffs’ applications reflects any arbitrariness of the sort
that might evince animus or otherwise suggests that the plaintiffs have been,
are being, or will be . . . jerked around”; (5) “whether the City’s denial of the
plaintiffs’ zoning applications was final or whether, instead, the plaintiffs had
(or have) an opportunity to submit modified applications that might satisfy the
City’s objections”; and (6) “whether the alleged burden is properly attributable
to the government . . . or whether the burden is instead self-imposed.” TMAA
I, 980 F.3d at 831–32 (footnotes omitted).
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While we received extensive briefing on how to apply this
framework, including from five groups of amici curiae, we will not
reach the merits of this issue today. Despite the parties’ represen-
tation that there are no disputed facts remaining in this case, we
cannot see how that is true. For one thing, in the district court,
both TMAA and the City filed lengthy objections to the other’s
statement of undisputed facts and substituted their own statements
of undisputed facts. See NAACP, 775 F.3d at 1345 (noting this situa-
tion suggests summary judgment is inappropriate). Moreover, as
will be discussed below, these factual disputes are both genuine and
material. Accordingly, due to these disputes, the district court
should not have entered summary judgment for either party in this
case on the RLUIPA count.
We provide two illustrative—though not exhaustive—ex-
amples of material factual disputes that remain. One of the factors
relates to whether there are alternative sites for TMAA to use.
TMAA I, 980 F.3d at 832. The City argues that TMAA owns a 100-
acre parcel that would be suitable for its meditation center.
TMAA’s land-use expert has opined that this site is unsuitable for
TMAA’s intended use. The availability of a large property similar
to the Eloong Drive property would weigh heavily on this factor.
A factual dispute like this on a key factor precludes the issuance of
summary judgment at this stage.
Similarly, another factor deals with whether the Planning
Commission’s denial of TMAA’s application reflected arbitrariness.
Id. TMAA cites several specific instances of the Planning
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Commission deviating from its typical procedure, failing to work
with TMAA, and allegedly editing the minutes of its meetings to
obscure the true reason for the denial of planning approval. The
City disputes that there were any irregularities in its processes, and
denies the minutes were edited. Again, only one of these accounts
can be right, and it bears on an important factor of the substantial-
burden analysis laid out in TMAA I.
Because factual disputes like these preclude the issuance of
summary judgment to either party, we vacate the entry of sum-
mary judgment on the RLUIPA count.2
IV. Free Exercise Clause
Turning next to the district court’s entry of summary judg-
ment on TMAA’s First Amendment Free Exercise claim. In TMAA
I, we directed the district court to independently evaluate the Free
Exercise claim, rather than cross-reference its analysis of—and ex-
pressly tether its rejection to—the RLUIPA substantial burden is-
sue. TMAA I, 980 F.3d at 833. However, on remand, the district
2 One option available to the district court in this situation would have been
to convert the cross-motions for summary judgment into a bench trial. See
NAACP, 775 F.3d at 1345–46 (describing this option); see also Voigt, 700 F.2d at
349. If the court had done so, it would have proceeded under Federal Rule of
Civil Procedure 52, which would have mandated compliance with Rule 52(a)’s
requirement that findings of fact and conclusions of law be entered. See Fed.
R. Civ. P. 52(a)(1). If this option had been taken, there would be a clear factual
record enabling our review of the district court’s legal conclusions. But that
did not happen here. Instead, the district court entered summary judgment in
this matter and that is how the parties have addressed the issues on appeal.
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court carried over much of its original analysis after briefly con-
cluding that “Plaintiffs have not shown the Zoning Ordinance tar-
geted religious practices or imposed burdens on religious conduct
in a selective manner[, therefore] rational basis review applies.”
Again, this was error. In light of this error, we will review the rec-
ord to determine whether the City was properly entitled to sum-
mary judgment on TMAA’s Free Exercise claim. See Gundy v. City
of Jacksonville, 50 F.4th 60, 70 (11th Cir. 2022) (“We may affirm the
judgment of the district court on any ground supported by the rec-
ord, regardless of whether that ground was relied upon or even
considered by the district court.”) (citations omitted).
The Free Exercise Clause provides that “Congress shall
make no law . . . prohibiting the free exercise [of religion].” U.S.
Const. amend. I. However, government action may incidentally
burden religious practices—subject to rational basis review—so
long as it is both “neutral” and “generally applicable.” Emp. Div.,
Dep’t of Hum. Res. of Or. v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872, 880 (1990). The Su-
preme Court recently clarified these two principles:
A government policy will not qualify as neutral if it is
“specifically directed at . . . religious practice.” . . . A
government policy will fail the general applicability
requirement if it “prohibits religious conduct while
permitting secular conduct that undermines the gov-
ernment’s asserted interests in a similar way,” or if it
provides “a mechanism for individualized exemp-
tion.”
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Kennedy v. Bremerton Sch. Dist., 142 S. Ct. 2407, 2422 (2022) (citations
omitted). Notably, we have found the enforcement of zoning or-
dinances as both neutral and generally applicable. See First Assembly
of God of Naples, Fla., Inc. v. Collier Cnty., 20 F.3d 419, 422–24 (11th
Cir. 1994). Several of our sister circuits have come to the same
conclusion.3
Here, the R-1 zoning designation process satisfies Smith’s re-
quirements. First, the planning approval process is neutral. We
affirmed that TMAA failed to prove that a majority of the Planning
Commission acted with an intent to discriminate on the basis of
religion, TMAA I, 980 F.3d at 836, and because TMAA raised only
general applicability challenges in their present brief, they have
abandoned any additional neutrality arguments on appeal. See
Sapuppo v. Allstate Floridians Ins. Co., 739 F.3d 678, 680 (11th Cir.
2014). Second, the R-1 planning approval process does not provide
the type of discretionary exemption that violates general applica-
bility. When a use requires planning approval, the ordinances im-
pose specific criteria that guide the approval or denial of a particu-
lar use. 4 While the approval process necessarily requires individual
3 See, e.g., Grace United Methodist Church v. City of Cheyenne, 451 F.3d 643, 651
(10th Cir. 2006); C.L. for Urban Believers v. City of Chicago, 342 F.3d 752, 764–65
(7th Cir. 2003); Lighthouse Inst. for Evangelism, Inc. v. City of Long Branch, 510
F.3d 253, 277 (3d Cir. 2007).
4 The use must be “appropriate with regard to transportation and access, wa-
ter supply, waste disposal, fire and police protection and other public facili-
ties”; not cause “undue traffic congestion or create[e] a traffic hazard”; and be
“in harmony with the orderly and appropriate development of the district in
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12 Opinion of the Court 22-11674
assessment, it is not sufficient to establish an individualized exemp-
tion. The criteria apply to all property uses eligible for approval,
religious or secular. Furthermore, the scheme does not allow for
the kind of blanket discretionary mechanism that historically fails
Smith’s general applicability requirement. See Fulton v. City of Phil-
adelphia, 141 S. Ct. 1868, 1878 (2021) (holding that a city official’s
“sole discretion” to deny exceptions from the non-discrimination
referral provision for a Catholic adoption center is not generally
applicable).
As a result, Mobile’s R-1 zoning designation process is both
neutral and generally applicable, subjecting it to rational basis re-
view. Because rational basis review is “highly deferential to gov-
ernment action,” we agree that the City’s asserted interests in traf-
fic safety and zoning are “rationally related to a legitimate govern-
ment interest.” See Jones v. Governor of Fla., 950 F.3d 795, 809 (11th
Cir. 2020) (per curiam). We therefore affirm the entry of summary
judgment on TMAA’s Free Exercise count.
V. Alabama Religious Freedom Amendment
Turning now to TMAA’s state constitutional law claim. The
ARFA’s purpose “is to guarantee that the freedom of religion is not
burdened by state and local law; and to provide a claim or defense
to persons whose religious freedom is burdened by government.”
Ala. Const. amend. 622, § III. The ARFA applies to local
which the use is located.” See Mobile Code of Ordinances § 64-12(1)(b)
(amended and reincorporated in 2022).
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governments, like the City of Mobile, id. § IV(3), and provides that
they “shall not burden a person’s freedom of religion” unless the
city can demonstrate that the burden is the least restrictive means
of achieving a compelling government interest. Id. §§ V(a), V(b).
Thus, ARFA, like RLUIPA, requires the government’s action to sat-
isfy strict scrutiny to survive review. However, the ARFA is trig-
gered by a much lower burden on religious freedom than RLUIPA.
While RLUIPA requires a “substantial” burden, we held in TMAA I
that under ARFA, “any burden—even an incidental or insubstantial
one—suffices to trigger strict scrutiny.” TMAA I, 980 F.3d at 840.
We also held that TMAA’s efforts to construct a meditation
center and relocate to a site more conducive to their religious prac-
tices implicated TMAA’s religious freedom rights. Id. at 829.
While it is still uncertain at this stage whether the City’s planning
decision is a substantial burden on TMAA’s rights, it clearly is a bur-
den. It therefore clears TMAA I’s low bar to trigger ARFA’s strict
scrutiny review.
Before turning to the strict scrutiny analysis, we first address
the City’s threshold argument that the ARFA simply does not apply
to zoning decisions like the one at issue here. The ARFA broadly
applies to “[a]ny government statute, regulation, ordinance, ad-
ministrative provision, ruling guideline, requirement, or any state-
ment of law whatever.” Ala. Const. amend. 622, § IV(4); see also id.
§ VI(a) (“This amendment applies to all government rules and im-
plementations thereof, whether statutory or otherwise . . . .”). The
City’s zoning regulations and approval decisions fall within the
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wide breadth of this definition. The City argues the ARFA’s con-
ception of “religious freedom” is co-extensive with Article I, § 3 of
the Alabama Constitution, and thus narrower than that of the First
Amendment.
We decline to accept this argument because it is contrary to
the observed practice of Alabama courts interpreting the Alabama
Constitution’s guarantee of freedom of religion in lockstep with
the federal Constitution’s First Amendment guarantees. See, e.g.,
Ex parte Hilley, 405 So. 2d 708, 711 (Ala. 1981) (“Viewed in the light
of the free exercise clauses of the United States Constitution,
amend. I, and the Alabama Constitution, art. I, § 3 . . . .”); Rheuark
v. State, 601 So. 2d 135,139–40 (Ala. Crim. App. 1992) (citing United
States Supreme Court precedent to resolve a challenge under both
the federal First Amendment and the Alabama Constitution). And
the Alabama Supreme Court has expressly held that Article I, § 3 of
the Alabama Constitution is “not more restrictive than the Federal
Establishment of Religion Clause in the First Amendment to the
United States Constitution.” Alabama Educ. Ass’n v. James, 373 So.
2d 1076, 1081(Ala. 1979); see alsoid.
(describing Article I, § 3 as “the
Alabama counterpart of the Religion Clauses of the First Amend-
ment to the United States Constitution” (emphasis added)). All of
this evidence tends to cast doubt on the City’s cabined view of the
Alabama Constitution’s protections for religious freedom.
Finally, we are persuaded that a narrow cabining of ARFA
would be inconsistent with its ratification context, see Ala. Const.
amend. 622, § II(4)–(6) (describing ARFA in the context of federal
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22-11674 Opinion of the Court 15
constitutional law developments in Employment Division v. Smith,
494 U.S. 872(1990) and City of Boerne v. Flores,521 U.S. 507
(1997)), 5
and its broad remedial purpose, id. § VII(a) (“This amendment shall
be liberally construed to effectuate its remedial and deterrent pur-
poses.”). Given this evidence, we feel comfortable rejecting the
City’s argument that ARFA and Article I, § 3 of the Alabama Con-
stitution have a narrower conception of religious freedom than the
First Amendment. And accordingly, we conclude that the ARFA
applies to the City’s zoning decision to the extent that it restricts
TMAA’s, or its members’, right to worship freely and practice their
religion as they conceive it.
* * *
Having resolved that threshold question, we turn to the
strict scrutiny analysis. To survive strict scrutiny under ARFA, the
City must carry its burden to demonstrate that its planning decision
is the least restrictive means to achieve a compelling government
interest. Ala. Const. amend. 622, § V(b). A compelling govern-
ment interest is one that advances “interests of the highest order.”
Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah, 508 U.S. 520, 546
(1993). Further, “generalized statement[s] of interests, unsup-
ported by specific and reliable evidence” will not do. See Davila v.
Gladden, 777 F.3d 1198, 1206 (11th Cir. 2015). Allowing govern-
ment entities to state their interest at the highest levels of
5 Compare with Midrash Sephardi, 366 F.3d at 1236–37 (describing a similar con-
text for RLUIPA).
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16 Opinion of the Court 22-11674
generality permits them to shrug off the heavy burden that strict
scrutiny analysis is designed to impose.
Here, the district court concluded that the city satisfied strict
scrutiny because denial of TMAA’s application was the least restric-
tive means to further “[t]he City’s interest to preserve the character
of the property and the surrounding neighborhood.” Thai Medita-
tion Ass’n of Ala. v. City of Mobile, 599 F. Supp. 3d 1120, 1144 (S.D.
Ala. 2022) The City also argues that concerns about increased traf-
fic at the Eloong Drive Property constitute a compelling govern-
ment interest. We find these asserted interests lacking.
To begin, we have never held that neighborhood character
or zoning are compelling government interests sufficient to justify
abridging core constitutional rights. Indeed, in Solantic, LLC v. City
of Neptune Beach, we held that “aesthetics and traffic safety” were
not compelling government interests justifying content-based re-
strictions on signs. 410 F.3d 1250, 1267–69 (11th Cir. 2005). Simi-
larly, a group of amici curiae in this case direct us to Dimmit v. City
of Clearwater, 985 F.2d 1565, 1570 (11th Cir. 1993), where we again
held that “visual aesthetics and traffic safety . . . [are] not a compel-
ling state interest” in the First Amendment speech context. Those
amici also note that generalized, high-level invocations of “zoning”
are often used to target minority faith’s land use applications. See
Br. of Amicus Curiae of the General Conference of Seventh-Day
Adventists, et al., at 25–26. These concerns underscore why it is
necessary to hold government entities to their burden to state and
support a well-defined government interest.
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22-11674 Opinion of the Court 17
The City notes that we said in Grosz v. City of Miami Beach,
721 F.2d 729 (11th Cir. 1983) that “zoning objectives” were a “sig-
nificant” government interest. Id. at 738–40. Grosz is of little per-
suasive weight here because it was decided under an ad hoc balanc-
ing framework and not the strict scrutiny, “compelling govern-
ment” interest framework we apply today. See id. at 740. We think
that Grosz means what it says: “zoning objectives” may be “signifi-
cant” government interests and may justify government action in
a different balancing context. However, the ARFA requires that
the government’s interest be “compelling,” and vague, generalized
invocations of government interests in “zoning” and “neighbor-
hood character” are insufficient to carry the government’s burden.
Here, the City has failed to carry its burden to demonstrate
a compelling government interest. The generalized invocations of
neighborhood character and zoning fail as a matter of law under
our precedents. The City’s invocation of traffic concerns fare
slightly better because they are specific to the Eloong Drive prop-
erty, but they are unsubstantiated in the record. The City’s own
traffic engineer testified that there would be no traffic safety issues
at the Eloong Drive property site from a traffic engineering per-
spective. That engineer further testified that the increase in the
number of vehicles traveling along the streets to the Eloong Drive
property would not be substantial if TMAA’s application were ap-
proved. However, the engineer did testify that the increase in traf-
fic would be large in terms of a percentage change because the
roads are so infrequently used presently. The City discusses at
length the statements of neighbors living near the Eloong Drive
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18 Opinion of the Court 22-11674
Property to substantiate its concerns about traffic. But review of
these statements reveals that they are the same generalized, some-
times speculative, concerns that we have cautioned are inappropri-
ate. To carry its burden to demonstrate a compelling government
interest, the City must present more evidence of its interest, and
that evidence must be specific. The City must link its concerns to
the particular details, and alleged ills, posed by TMAA’s applica-
tion. Because it failed to do so, it was not entitled to summary
judgment in this matter. Further, unlike the RLUIPA and Free Ex-
ercise claims there are no disputed facts remaining for this issue.
The testimony of the city engineer, and the neighbors at the Plan-
ning Commission meeting are in the record and are insufficient to
support that the City has a compelling government interest in
denying TMAA’s application. Accordingly, we reverse the entry of
summary judgment on this count and direct the district court to
enter judgment for TMAA.
VI. Conclusion
Because there are factual disputes relating to the burden that
the City has imposed on TMAA, summary judgment was improper
on the RLUIPA substantial claim. Accordingly, we VACATE the
entry of summary judgment on that count. Because the City’s
planning approval process satisfies rational basis review, summary
judgment was proper on the Free Exercise claim. Accordingly, we
AFFIRM the entry of summary judgment on that count. Because
the City is imposing a burden on TMAA’s religious freedom, and
because it has failed to carry its burden to demonstrate a compel-
ling government interest, TMAA is entitled to judgment on the
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22-11674 Opinion of the Court 19
ARFA claim. Accordingly, we REVERSE the entry of summary
judgment on the ARFA claim and REMAND with instructions to
enter judgment for TMAA.
VACATED in part, AFFIRMED in part, and REVERSED
in part, REMANDED with instructions.