Trinity v. People's Counsel

962 A.2d 404

407 Md. 53

TRINITY ASSEMBLY OF GOD OF BALTIMORE CITY, INC. v. PEOPLE'S COUNSEL FOR BALTIMORE COUNTY, et al.

No. 27 Sept.Term, 2008.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

December 24, 2008.

C. William Clark (Nolan, Plumhoff & Williams, Chtd., Towson, MD), on brief, for Petitioner.

Peter Max Zimmerman, People's Counsel for Baltimore County (Carole S. Demilio, Deputy People's Counsel, Towson, MD), on brief, for Respondents.

ARGUED BEFORE BELL, C.J., HARRELL, BATTAGLIA, GREENE, MURPHY and JOHN C. ELDRIDGE (Retired, Specially Assigned) and IRMA S. RAKER, (Retired, Specially Assigned), JJ.

HARRELL, Judge.

This litigation arises from the denial of a church's request for variances from Section 450 of the Baltimore County Zoning Regulations (the "Zoning Code" or "BCZR"), which limit the area and height of an identification sign to 25 square feet and six feet, respectively. Section 450 allows an institution, including a church, to have one identification sign,¹ within these limits, for each frontage of its property.² If multiple such signs are allowed, one may contain changeable copy capabilities.³ The Zoning Code also permits the County Board of Appeals (the "Board"), in limited circumstances, to grant variances from the strict application of the standards of Section 450 where an applicant demonstrates that its property has unique physical characteristics that cause the area and height limitations to affect disproportionately the property and that compliance with those limitations would impose a practical difficulty for the applicant. In the present case, the church wishes to erect and maintain a new sign facing the Baltimore Beltway. The proposed sign would be 250 square feet in face area and 25 feet high, with a significant portion of the sign face devoted to electronic changeable copy. The Board denied the necessary variances. The church now challenges the Board's application of the requirements for the grant of a variance. The church further claims that denial of the variances here violates the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (the "RLUIPA"), a Federal statute that prohibits a zoning authority from imposing a substantial burden on an institution's religious exercise, unless that burden is the least restrictive means of advancing a compelling government interest. 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 2000cc et seq. (2003). For reasons we shall explain, we shall affirm the Board's decision to deny the requested variances, as well as its conclusion that that denial does not violate the RLUIPA.

Facts

Trinity Assembly of God of Baltimore City, Inc. ("Trinity") operates a church from facilities located in a low-density residential zone in the greater Towson area of Baltimore County. Trinity has between 1700 and 2000 members, with approximately 1300 of them attending church services in any given week. The congregants come from the greater Baltimore area and as far away as southern Pennsylvania. Trinity's property ("the Property") consists of approximately 15 acres of land located at the intersection of West Joppa Road and the Baltimore Beltway ("the Beltway" or "I-695"). The north side of the Property abuts the Beltway's eastbound lanes. Sole vehicular and pedestrian access to the Property is provided by an entrance on the West Joppa Road frontage of the Property. Trinity has four buildings on the Property: a 2400-seat sanctuary that can be seen from the Beltway; an older sanctuary that is connected to the current sanctuary by a walkway; an educational/office building; and a fellowship hall. These structures make up approximately one-third of the Property. The Zoning Code permits churches in the zone in which the Property is placed.

Trinity has two existing identification signs on the Property. One is 36 square feet and is located at the Property's West Joppa Road entrance. Trinity received a variance for that sign in 1982, allowing it to be 36 square feet in face area. Trinity's other sign, which is 24 square feet in face area, is situated where the Property abuts the Beltway and is parallel to the Beltway, such that, theoretically, it is viewable by both eastbound and westbound motorists.

The driving force of the present litigation, which began more than six years ago, is Trinity's desire to replace the current Beltway-facing sign, which simply identifies the church as "Trinity Assembly of God," with a new, single-faced sign that would be 250 square feet in area, 25 feet tall, and face eastbound traffic only. A portion of the face area of the proposed sign, approximately five feet long and 18½ feet wide, would be changeable copy operated electronically by Trinity. Trinity seeks variances from the square-footage and height limitations, codified in Section 450 of the Zoning Code ("Section 450" or "the Sign Law"), which, we reiterate, are 25 square feet and six feet, respectively.⁴

On 9 September 2002, Trinity filed a Petition for Variance with Baltimore County. The People's [Zoning] Counsel for Baltimore County opposed the petition. In a written memorandum and order, the Deputy Zoning Commissioner denied Trinity's petition, concluding:

After considering the testimony and evidence offered both in support and opposition to [Trinity's] request, I find that the variance request to permit the sign in question to be constructed on [Trinity's] property should be denied. Of particular concern to me was the flashing message portion of the sign in question. The testimony offered at the hearing did demonstrate that the old sign is out-dated and is in need of replacement. However, the sign proposed to replace the old sign is not appropriate and cannot be approved.

Trinity appealed to the Board, contending that the grant of the variances is required because the Property is unique and that strict compliance with the Sign Law would result in practical difficulty for Trinity. The Board held a de novo evidentiary hearing, on three nonconsecutive days between 17 July 2003 and 10 December 2003.

Trinity's first witness was George Raduano, its pastor. Pastor Raduano explained why he felt that Trinity needed to replace its current Beltway-facing sign:

Q. Now why is the church asking for a new sign on the north side of the property which faces the I-695 Beltway?

A. Well, a few reasons. One is identification of the church. We are usually known as the church with the big roof, but no one knows our name.

We'd like to make our name prominent, since it cannot be read from the road sign. Also for directional purposes. We have had a great number of people who have explained they have had difficulty driving one Sunday, two Sunday[s], three Sundays, before they found us, because the interchange is complicated there.

So on the sign, we want the exit number with directions that they could read during the week when they choose to worship with us so they can find us a little more readily.....

... We have situations where people have invited people to church and have waited, and told me later their friend could not find the church because of how difficult it was.

So we try to, on the back of business cards, on our map, on our web page, have directions everywhere we can. I guess [the proposed sign] would be another way to help us clarify the directions.

Q. Are there other reasons why the church wants to have a new sign in addition to identifying the location?

A. Well, we would like also to be able to use it so people know of upcoming events or service times or to use it for some public service, time, temperature or a Red Cross Blood Drive, anything like that, or maybe to put a scripture verse of encouragement, any of those areas.

Q. Do you believe that that is an integral part of your functioning as a church to be able to do that?

A. Yes, I do.

Pastor Raduano complained that visibility of Trinity's sanctuary from the Beltway is compromised by a concrete sound barrier, approximately 20 to 25 feet high, running along the Beltway. Moreover, he expressed his belief that travelers on the Beltway have difficulty seeing the current Beltway-facing identification sign because of the physical characteristics of where the Property abuts the Beltway. Pastor Raduano stated that the State Highway Administration placed evergreen trees of varying heights and a six foot high chain link fence on a berm that sits one to two feet higher than the edge of the Property. These obstacles, contributed to by the Property's physical attributes, are compounded by the complicated nature of the I-695/I-83 interchange, which confuses Beltway travelers as they drive past the Property.

Although Trinity's web-site posts travel directions to the church, Pastor Raduano contemplated that the proposed larger sign would be helpful in that regard because the directions are difficult for some people to follow. He explained that parishioners and visitors complain regularly to him that Trinity is hard to find; however, when pressed on cross-examination, he could not quantify, even approximately, how many people had such difficulty. Nor did he know approximately how many people, if any, consulted Trinity's web-site or a map to divine directions. Furthermore, Pastor Raduano admitted on cross-examination that the proposed sign would have limited directional value. Recovering from this admission, however, Pastor Raduano suggested that the sign would let people know where the church is located so that they could come back for church services or other events at a later time. He expressly acknowledged that, besides identification, the sign would serve a non-commercial advertising purpose. He stated that the sign would "let people know where we are and who we are."

Trinity's next witness, Ellis Shapos, was accepted by the Board as an expert regarding "media signage." Shapos stated that he is employed by, and part owner of, Visual Message and Displays, Inc., which provides "consulting services [and] marketing" and supplies "electronic media message displays and wireless...