The federal 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia dismissed a lawsuit challenging the construction of publicly funded affordable housing atop an Arlington County church that claimed the project violated the separation of church and state. The development, the Views at Clarendon, will consist of eight stories of mixed-income apartments, including 70 low-income rentals. The apartment complex is being built above and in conjunction with a new two-story sanctuary for the First Baptist Church at Clarendon less than a block from the Clarendon Metro stop.
The church sold its air rights to the nonprofit Views and is using the revenue from the sale to pay for the church’s reconstruction. The apartments will be built using county and federal loans. First Baptist Church will own the first two floors, and the developer will own the eight stories above it.
Neighbor Peter Glassman filed a First Amendment lawsuit in 2009 to stop construction, charging that the plan masks the Arlington board’s true intentions: a bailout of the struggling church, whose congregation and contributions diminished in recent years.
The appeals court affirmed an April 2010 decision by the U.S. District Court to dismiss the case. Appeals Court Judge Paul Niemeyer ruled that the development deal was not a violation of the separation of church and state but mutually beneficial to Arlington and the church — Arlington gets more affordable housing near Metro and the church gets a new sanctuary and office space.
“The county’s only interest was to accomplish the secular end of having affordable housing constructed in a highly urban area of Arlington County,” Niemeyer wrote in his opinion.
Glassman’s lawsuit was the third to challenge the development since the Arlington County Board first approved it in 2004. Prior cases temporarily halted the project by successfully arguing that Arlington did not have the zoning authority to approve it. The county board responded by reapproving the development after amending its zoning code in 2007.
Glassman isn’t sure whether he’ll continue to fight the development in court.
“We’re obviously disappointed and disagree with the ruling. We have not had the opportunity to prove our case,” he said. “I will consult with counsel to consider our options.”
Developers broke ground on the church and apartments in October 2009 and expect the project to be completed by late 2011.
