Hollywood synagogue not alone in legal challenges

Posted on Sun, Jul. 31, 2005


RELIGION
Hollywood synagogue not alone in legal challenges
A synagogue in Orange County has won a legal battle that parallels a case still being played out in Hollywood.
BY JERRY BERRIOS
jberrios@herald.com

An Orange County synagogue faced challenges similar to those of the Hollywood Community Synagogue Chabad Lubavitch.

For more than two years, Rabbi Joseph Konikov battled county officials to allow him to hold worship services in his single-family home in Sand Lake Hills, a residential neighborhood.

Konikov, a Brooklyn rabbi, first rented the home, then purchased it.

When he started to hold services with a small number of worshipers, the county got wind of it. The battle began.

One year, while the rabbi and several families celebrated the Jewish holiday of Purim, an Orange County code enforcement officer knocked on the door to cite him for operating a synagogue, said his attorney, John Stemberger.

At one point, county code enforcement agents stopped by to count cars and people at the home to prepare for a board hearing, Stemberger said.

The county rules required him to apply for permission to operate, but documents from the Sand Lake Hills homeowners association prohibited him from doing so.

He filed suit in federal court in 2002, claiming that the county violated the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and the Florida and U.S. constitutions.

In June, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta ruled in Konikov's favor.

''Zoning is not some magic wand that the county can just wave and tell people what to do,'' Stemberger said.

There are several similarities between Konikov's case and the one in Hollywood:

• Both synagogues operate in single-family homes.

• Neighbors complained about the parking and other activities at the synagogues.

• Code enforcement officers cited violations for vehicles and activities at the homes.

• Both synagogues racked up thousands of dollars in liens and code enforcement fines.

• The Hollywood case also could be decided by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.


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