The losses and costs continue to mount for Boulder County in its legal fight with Rocky Mountain Christian Church.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn ordered the county to pay the church $1.25 million in attorney’s fees and almost $90,000 in costs incurred by the church in its lawsuit against the county.
The church’s lead pastor, Alan Ahlgrim, said he hopes the ruling will move the county to abandon the land-use conflict that dates to 2004.
“This is a sobering ruling for them,” Ahlgrim said.
There is no sign, however, the county is giving up. A hearing in the case is scheduled for March 8 in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
In 2004, the church submitted plans for a 132,000-square-foot addition to its 106,000-square foot campus, located east of Niwot, at the corner of 95th Street and Niwot Road.
The commissioners denied the request in 2006, claiming the church’s plans weren’t compatible with the surrounding area. The church sued, saying the commissioners violated its freedom of religion rights and the federal Religious Land and Institutionalized Persons Act.
The act, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 2000, forbids local governments from placing “substantial” burden on churches and requires that limits on church activities be as least-restrictive as possible.
A U.S District Court jury in November 2008 said the county treated the church differently from other applicants. However, the jurors said, Boulder County did not violate the church’s First Amendment rights.
Blackburn agreed with the church’s lawyers that the county owed the church for fees and costs, although he reduced the requested amount to $1.34 million from $1.89 million.
Boulder County spokesman Dan Rowland said all monetary costs of the case are still “theoretical” pending a ruling by the appeals court.
Before Monday’s ruling, the lawsuit had cost Boulder County and its insurer about $1.1 million, although the county is responsible for only the first $250,000 of the legal bill, Rowland said.
Ahlgrim would not say how much the church has spent. “Let’s just say we have spent a considerable amount of money,” he said.
The church, he said, only wanted to be treated like every other property owner.
“We’re grateful that the judge has once again ruled on our behalf,” Ahlgrim said. “The trend seems to be against the county.”
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
