Michigan church wins fight over storefront

Michigan church wins fight over storefront

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — A Michigan church has won the right to use a storefront location in a business district after it sued under a new federal law dealing with religious land use.

The Washington-based Becket Fund for Religious Liberty announced Dec. 29 that a district judge had approved a consent agreement between Haven Shores Community Church and the city of Grand Haven, Mich.

The city acknowledged in the agreement that the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, signed into law by President Clinton on Sept. 22, applied to the case.

Kevin J. Hasson, president of the Becket Fund, which represented the church, hailed the settlement of the case, which he called the “first successful lawsuit” under the new federal law.