Judge Overturns Denial for Sikh Building Permit in Yuba City

November 21, 2003

Source: The Sacramento Bee

[sacbee.com/content/news/story/7817870p-8758656c.html]

On November 21, 2003 The Sacramento Bee reported, "A Sacramento federal judge on Wednesday ordered Sutter County to allow construction of a Sikh temple on a 30-acre plot of farmland west of Yuba City. U.S. District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton invalidated the 2002 denial by the Sutter County Board of Supervisors of a conditional-use permit for the temple's construction, and he barred the board from enforcing that decision. The judge ordered the board to approve the application of a Sikh religious organization, subject only to conditions already agreed to by the organization. It appears the supervisors used a land-use decision to impose a burden on Guru Nanak Sikh Society of Yuba City that 'inhibits religious practice,' in violation of the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) of 2000."