City that bashed church’s homeless shelter backs down, pays up

A Colorado city that bashed a local church for running a temporary homeless shelter on its own vast property has backed down, allowing the ministry to restore services to the needy.

And it has paid up, agreeing to contribute $225,000 to lawyers’ fees for the fight it started.

According to officials at First Liberty Institute, The Rock Church has reached a settlement with the town of Castle Rock, following a recent court ruling that already had enjoined the city from enforcing its will on the church.

The church can now continue to run an onsite temporary shelter ministry, use its own building for emergency shelter, including partnering with the Red Cross, and even operate a coffee shop at cost or for voluntary donations.

The two sides released a joint statement:

On May 13, 2024, the Church of the Rock (“the Rock”) filed a federal lawsuit against the Town of Castle Rock, Colorado, in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. The Rock sought and received a court order enjoining the Town from enforcing its land-use laws to prohibit the Rock’s operation of its On-Site Temporary Shelter Ministry, through which the Rock provides shelter to those in need in trailers on its property, during the pendency of the case.

Since the Court issued its injunction order, the Rock and the Town have sought to resolve this dispute without further litigation. As part of those efforts, on December 2, 2024, the Town issued a revised Letter of Determination that explicitly permits the Rock to operate its On-Site Temporary Shelter Ministry in the two trailers currently located on the Rock’s property and clarifies that the applicable Planned Development zoning regulations do not prevent the Rock from providing additional shelter during public emergencies through its partnership with the Red Cross.

The Town and the Rock now wish to inform the public that they have reached an agreement intended to end the current litigation and settle issues regarding the future use of the Rock’s property to provide temporary housing to those in need. As part of this agreement, a new Letter of Determination will permit the Rock to operate its On-Site Temporary Shelter Ministry located in its existing parking lot. The Town has the option to install additional fencing or landscaping to partially screen the location of the units from the surrounding neighborhood in accordance with the terms of the agreement.

The Town acknowledges the Rock’s invaluable services to the Castle Rock community through its longstanding efforts to provide support for those members of our community most in need. The Rock acknowledges its responsibilities as a good neighbor and looks forward to working in partnership with the Town while providing those services. The Town and the Rock believe that this agreement is in the best interest of all parties and successfully balances the Rock’s religious free-exercise rights with the Town’s public interest in enforcing land use regulations and protecting the general welfare, public health, and safety. The Town and the Rock are no longer in an adversarial posture in regard to the litigation and look forward to productive cooperation and potential partnerships on issues in the future.

“This is a welcome resolution that goes far to encourage churches who care for those in need and a good example of the type of cooperation between church and state that every community should welcome,” said Jeremy Dys, a lawyer for First Liberty.

“We are pleased that we can continue our church’s mission to transform society by loving others as Christ loved us,” added Pastor Mike Polhemus. “We love Castle Rock and are committed to working with the Town of Castle Rock to provide assistance to those in need, thus helping to reduce homelessness in our community.”

WND previously had reported on the judge’s preliminary injunction that prevented Castle Rock’s interference in the church program.

It uses an RV and a trailer camper unit on its own property to help shelter those in need.

The judge found the city had created a “substantial burden” on religion because it “prevents participation in a conduct motivated by a sincerely held religious belief.”

The church’s legal action charged that city officials were violating the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act with their campaign.

It was U.S. District Judge Daniel Domenico who had concluded the town did violate the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, a law passed by Congress in 2000, which grants religious institutions protections from zoning laws that prohibit free exercise of religion.

The judge said in his order, “The church stresses that by preventing it from allowing the homeless to live on its property, the town is precluding the church from exercising its religious beliefs regardless of whether it might be possible to provide for the needy in some other way. There is no reason to second-guess the church at this point, regardless of how idiosyncratic or mistaken the town may find its beliefs to be.”

He continued, “The town does not explicitly argue that it has a compelling interest in enforcing the (Planning Division) regulations as interpreted by the board of adjustment, and the church contends that the town could have no such interest because the church takes a number of precautions to ensure that its temporary shelter is safe. These include having a third party conduct background checks and requiring any RV tenants to sign contracts indicating that they will abide by certain rules.”

Further, he said the town failed to identify any safety issues from the church’s actions.