By Thomas Monnay
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
October 4, 2006
COOPER CITY · The city may soon allow places of worship in areas zoned for office parks and recreational facilities.
However, the proposed changes, unanimously approved Tuesday by the City Commission, would not apply to commercial districts. The commission is expected to take a final vote on the matter Oct. 24.
"It's not discriminatory," Commissioner Elliot Kleiman said. "It's just an attempt to have uniformity in the kind of businesses you want in certain areas."
Currently, colleges and universities, community assemblies, hospitals, movie theaters, golf courses and parks and recreation facilities are allowed in places where houses of worship are banned.
"What we are doing is updating our codes in other zoning areas to comply with" a federal law that prevents cities from treating religious institutions on less than "equal terms" with non-religious groups, Mayor Debbie Eisinger said.
But the code changes may not mean much to an Orthodox Jewish congregation trying unsuccessfully for about a year to lease space in a commercial plaza by Griffin and Pine Island roads.
Rabbi Shmuel Posner wants to open a Chabad Outreach Center in the Timberlake Plaza and has hired attorney Franklin Zemel to fight the city's prohibition.
Zemel, who successfully stopped Hollywood from shutting down a Chabad center in a residential neighborhood, hasn't ruled out the possibility of a federal discrimination lawsuit against Cooper City.
In an e-mail, Zemel said he would have to carefully review the proposed changes.
"Generally, I can say that Cooper City appears to be demonstrating quality leadership in attempting to fix its unlawful code before it gets sued," he wrote. "Whether its code will be lawful and even, if so, how the city will remedy its past discrimination, remains to be seen."
Posner said the city's restrictive zoning has made it difficult to serve Chabad members because their religion forbids them from driving a car from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.
"We need synagogues that are close to homes," Posner said. "We need to be within walking distance to where we live."
Eisinger said city officials would be happy to assist Posner if he can find a location that complies with city laws.
"There are a whole slew of zoning areas that allow places of worship and churches in Cooper City," Kleiman said.
Thomas Monnay can be reached at tmonnay@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-7924.
Copyright © 2006, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
October 4, 2006
COOPER CITY · The city may soon allow places of worship in areas zoned for office parks and recreational facilities.
However, the proposed changes, unanimously approved Tuesday by the City Commission, would not apply to commercial districts. The commission is expected to take a final vote on the matter Oct. 24.
"It's not discriminatory," Commissioner Elliot Kleiman said. "It's just an attempt to have uniformity in the kind of businesses you want in certain areas."
Currently, colleges and universities, community assemblies, hospitals, movie theaters, golf courses and parks and recreation facilities are allowed in places where houses of worship are banned.
"What we are doing is updating our codes in other zoning areas to comply with" a federal law that prevents cities from treating religious institutions on less than "equal terms" with non-religious groups, Mayor Debbie Eisinger said.
But the code changes may not mean much to an Orthodox Jewish congregation trying unsuccessfully for about a year to lease space in a commercial plaza by Griffin and Pine Island roads.
Rabbi Shmuel Posner wants to open a Chabad Outreach Center in the Timberlake Plaza and has hired attorney Franklin Zemel to fight the city's prohibition.
Zemel, who successfully stopped Hollywood from shutting down a Chabad center in a residential neighborhood, hasn't ruled out the possibility of a federal discrimination lawsuit against Cooper City.
In an e-mail, Zemel said he would have to carefully review the proposed changes.
"Generally, I can say that Cooper City appears to be demonstrating quality leadership in attempting to fix its unlawful code before it gets sued," he wrote. "Whether its code will be lawful and even, if so, how the city will remedy its past discrimination, remains to be seen."
Posner said the city's restrictive zoning has made it difficult to serve Chabad members because their religion forbids them from driving a car from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.
"We need synagogues that are close to homes," Posner said. "We need to be within walking distance to where we live."
Eisinger said city officials would be happy to assist Posner if he can find a location that complies with city laws.
"There are a whole slew of zoning areas that allow places of worship and churches in Cooper City," Kleiman said.
Thomas Monnay can be reached at tmonnay@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-7924.
Copyright © 2006, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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