The Village of Atlantic Beach and the U.S. Department of Justice have reached a settlement over allegations that the village violated the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.
The allegations stem from a dispute that began in November 2021, when Atlantic Beach attempted to seize property on Park Street that had been purchased by Chabad of the Beaches through eminent domain, the acquisition of private property for public use. The Chabad intended to build a community center for Jewish programming, education and worship, as well as a drive-through café, as previously reported in the Herald.
The federal law protects people and religious institutions from unduly burdensome, unequal or discriminatory land-use regulations. Among its protections, it prohibits zoning authorities from treating religious assemblies and institutions on less-than-equal terms with nonreligious institutions.
“Zoning ordinances that single out religious uses for discretionary zoning permits while allowing secular gathering places as of right violate the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act,” Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a news release. “The Justice Department is committed to ensuring that religious gathering places like synagogues, churches and mosques across America are treated the same as secular places of assembly.”
In July 2022, Chabad of the Beaches filed a lawsuit against the village and its Zoning Board of Appeals, claiming that the village’s denial of its application to use a vacant commercial property for a religious facility violated the law.
In July 2025, the village agreed to settle with the Chabad for $950,000. In separate litigation, the Department of Justice continued to verify Chabad’s claims, and reached a settlement with the village on Oct. 21.
“We are grateful to the Department of Justice for its continued defense of religious liberty,” Ryan Gardner, an attorney from First Liberty Institute who represented the chabad, wrote in a statement. “Chabad of the Beaches is thrilled to be able to minister to the community. It’s great to see the Village is continuing to support religious liberty by agreeing to amend Its zoning ordinance.”
The settlement agreement outlines several provisions the village must adhere to. It agreed to revise its zoning ordinance in the village’s Residence District A, which covers most of the village’s land and includes all village properties except areas designated for Marine Recreation and Cluster zoning — a technique that groups residential or other structures on a smaller portion of a property while keeping the land parcel’s overall density the same.
Within 90 days, according to court documents, the village must remove the special exception requirement for places of worship, permitting religious uses as of right. The settlement agreement also requires the village to train its officials and employees on the requirements of the Religious Land Use law and establish procedures for receiving and resolving complaints.
As well, the village must establish a procedure for handling complaints alleging religious discrimination in zoning. Any complaints — written or oral — must be considered within 15 days and reported to the federal government within that same window.
Similarly, the village must maintain records of religious-land-use applications for 24 months and report on its compliance biannually.
And for two years, it must provide copies of the required materials to people applying for or inquiring about zoning or land-use approvals for religious purposes. The village must give the federal government at least 30 days’ advance notice of proposed future changes to land-use regulations affecting assembly or religious uses.
The property at 2025 Park St. remains vacant, while Chabad of the Beaches offers services at 570 W. Walnut St. in Long Beach.
Atlantic Beach Mayor Barry Frohlinger said the settlement allows the board to focus on its future.
“We’re very happy to have this item almost totally behind us,” Frohlinger said. “[We] just [have] the final pieces of implementation, and we really thank the lawyers have helped us, the board trustees, and the staff of the village have helped us put this in our rearview mirror.”
