A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction order in a lawsuit against the Village of Bolingbrook that may bring Liberty Temple Full Gospel Church a step closer in its plans to move to a storefront at 378 Bolingbrook Commons Drive.
The church, whose congregation meets at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites at 205 Remington Blvd., hopes to move to the new location in the near future.
“The church has presented sufficient evidence to indicate a substantial likelihood of success on the merits that the property at issue is zoned B-4, and that the church is a permitted use at the subject property under the Bolingbrook Zoning Ordinance 4-204, Judge Harry D. Leinenweber wrote in a May 4 ruling.
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When Liberty Temple began remodeling the space in the strip mall a couple of months ago, the village placed a red stop-work order on the door, contending the church had failed to request a required special-use permit. Village officials said the permit would be required for such an entity to operate in a B-2, or community retail, zoning district.
In response to the action, Liberty Temple filed a lawsuit in March alleging the Village of Bolingbrook had refused to grant a permit to operate its church on the property. The church claimed the property is in a B-4, or commercial urban development, zoning district, not B-2, as the village claimed.
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B-2 or B-4?
In a press release issued April 12, village officials attributed confusion about the zoning designation of the property to labeling on Bolingbrook’s current zoning map. “When the village switched from black-and-white zoning maps to maps in color in 2003, not every district included its zoning label,” the release stated. “However, this omission did not change the property’s B-2 zoning designation. The village is currently undertaking efforts to update its official zoning map to make sure all of the colors are labeled correctly.”
In the press release, village officials also stated the church had “signed a lease and started construction without the necessary approvals … trying to bypass the normal procedures and avoid obtaining a special-use permit.”
John Mauck, attorney for Liberty Temple, said church officials estimate they have about a week’s worth of work to complete before they can move into the space. He hopes the permit will be issued within two weeks.
“The judge has made it very clear – it’s zoned B-4,” said Mauck. “The city has to give (the church) a permit to do the work as long as they fill out the application correctly. We expect the city to act in good faith. We’re hoping they won’t slow us down.”
Bolingbrook Village Attorney Jim Boan declined to comment for this story, explaining he does not discuss pending litigation matters.
Church’s attorney says village’s story doesn’t add up
The vacant space the church hopes to occupy at Route 53 at Interstate 55 is among several empty storefronts in the strip mall, which is home to a couple of employment agencies, a Bingo hall and stores selling tile, flooring, payday loans, liquor and wholesale police/fire equipment.
And another place of worship, the International House of Prayer, sits just a few doors away from the storefront Liberty Temple hopes to call home – a situation Liberty Temple’s attorney finds puzzling, given the fact the Village of Bolingbrook contends the property in question is not zoned for churches.
“The city told my client that those folks were grandfathered in – a common term meaning that when (House of Prayer) was established, it was legal, then it changed. If they were grandfathered, the church was once allowed as a permitted use,” Mauck said. “There are parts of the story that just don’t make sense at all, especially how the House of Prayer got there.”
“Elected officials may have a degree of immunity that city employees do not. “I certainly hope no city employee is being asked to fall on his sword just because the mayor asks them to. They have to worry about their jobs.”
Zoning issues aside, the judge's ruling does not affect the village’s right to enforce its building codes, and vacates a previous ruling requiring the village to remove the red tag orders from the property. Red tags from the village’s building department remained on the building’s front door Friday.
Representatives of the church and the village are scheduled to appear in court for a status hearing at 9 a.m. May 25.
