A church sign is at the center of a legal battle involving allegations of religious discrimination and questionable highway safety regulations that?s now headed to Circuit Court for the second time in three years.
Officials from Trinity Assembly of God, an evangelical church in Lutherville along Interstate 695, said they?ve been seeking Baltimore County?s permission to install an electronic scrolling sign far bigger than county zoning regulations allow in residential areas. Under existing county code, they say their sign would be big enough only to squeeze a few letters in.
They said motorists will have to squint in order to read anything on it.
“It certainly will hinder the readability of the sign and limit its usefulness,” said L. William Clark, who is representing the church in the case.
But residents of the Ruxton-Riderwood communities and members of the county?s Board of Appeals, who have twice rejected the church?s arguments, say a sign more than 10 times larger than normally allowed would be a distraction to drivers.
The county allows signs that are 24 square feet and 6 feet tall. Trinity wants a sign that is 250 square feet and 25 feet tall, according to Peter Zimmerman, an attorney with the county?s People?s Counsel.
“This is way beyond what the law allows,” Zimmerman said. “How many churches do you know that have 250-square-foot signs?”
After the Board of Appeals denied the church?s request, Clark said he argued federal highway safety regulations require the letters on signs to be a certain height, forcing the church to ask for a larger sign to make it useful.
He also said members of the Board of Appeals neglected to apply a federal law that prevents groups from using local zoning laws to block the locations of churches and detention centers.
But Zimmerman said the plaintiffs have to demonstrate a significant burden in practicing their religion. That, he said, hasn?t been accomplished.
No date has been set for the hearing.
