Ohio Church Enjoined From Sheltering Homeless This Winter
An Ohio judge has issued a preliminary injunction against Dad’s Place and its pastor Chris Avell, preventing the church from using its first floor to shelter homeless people, even as temperatures are expected to plummet later this week.
Dad’s Place and Avell have been involved in a dispute with Bryan, Ohio, since last year over whether it can open the first floor of the church in a business district to allow homeless persons to escape the cold.
In January, a federal district court issued an order “forbidding [the city] from enforcing any alleged violations of the City’s zoning or fire codes without the court’s approval or the church’s agreement.”
The city of Bryan and the church, through its counsel at First Liberty Institute, tried to resolve their differences, but negotiations broke down in April.
In July 2024, the federal court denied the church’s request for a preliminary injunction to prevent the city from enforcing its fire regulations against the church.
Then in September, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the church’s appeal of the district court’s decision.
Now, Ohio Judge J.T. Stelzer has issued an injunction preventing the church from offering its building for use by homeless persons in the city.
Stelzer said in his decision that the city’s desire to protect public safety and the church’s argument for religious freedom should not be at odds. “Dad’s Place and its pastor, Christopher Avell, are putting the very people they are trying to help and comfort at significant risk of injury or death,” he said.
Dad’s Place remains in violation of several fire safety code regulations, including failure to install a sprinkler system, said Stelzer.
The decision also pointed to two other shelters near Dad’s Place that utilize their second floors as temporary residences to shelter the city’s needy and homeless residents while in “full compliance with the city’s fire code and zoning ordinances.”
“Fire code regulations and the zoning code enforcement procedures do not burden Dad’s Place religious purposes and free exercise. Any burden upon Dad’s Place is incidental to the City of Bryan’s enforcement of the fire code and zoning laws and the safety provisions of those regulations,” Stelzer wrote.
First Liberty has filed a motion to stay the injunction and plans to appeal Stelzer’s ruling.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has submitted a brief in the case on the side of Dad’s Place.
Arguing for a stay of the injunction, Yost wrote, “As a practical matter, enforcement of the preliminary injunction would likely cause severe hardship on anyone currently relying on the church for warmth in winter weather, with temperatures in the teens.”
Plus, the Ohio Constitution’s religious liberty provision likely offers stronger protection for Dad’s Place than the U.S. Constitution, Yost noted.
In his decision granting the preliminary injunction to the city of Bryan, Stelzer said the zoning ordinances and fire code were neutral and generally applicable and thus did not “need to be justified by a compelling government interest.”
Yost argues, on the other hand, that Ohio’s protections require that if a litigant shows the government has impeded his free exercise, then the burden shifts to require the city to prove the compelling interest it is pursuing by the least restrictive means available.
This is a higher standard for the government to meet than the one cited by Stelzer in his order granting the preliminary injunction.
“We are grateful for AG Yost’s leadership in defense of religious liberty for all Ohioans,” First Liberty Senior Counsel Jeremy Dys said in a press release. “He clearly understands the importance of respecting the free exercise of religion even when trying to enforce town ordinances. We are determined to continue this litigation on appeal, but are encouraged that we can do so with the support of leaders like AG Yost.”
On Dec. 3, the municipal court held the trial of Avell for criminal charges based on zoning violations. At the end of the trial, the judge asked the parties to submit briefs within 10 days and will likely issue his judgment after that.
This article has been republished with permission from Ministry Watch.
Kim Roberts is a freelance writer who holds a Juris Doctorate with honors from Baylor University and an undergraduate degree in government from Angelo State University. She has three young adult children who were home schooled and is happily married to her husband of 28 years.