U.S. Investigates Garden Grove

February 2, 2007

Author: Deepa Bharath

Source: Orange County Register

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/homepage/article_1562545.php

GARDEN GROVE - The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a civil rights investigation of the city in connection with a lawsuit filed last year by a Buddhist temple challenging the constitutionality of the city's zoning code, officials said today.

City Attorney Thomas Nixon said he received a letter Thursday from the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C., informing him that the investigation will look into the application of a federal law concerning land use and religion as it relates to the Quan Am Buddhist temple on Chapman Avenue.

U.S. Department of Justice officials could not be reached for comment today.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of the temple in August questioning the fairness of the city's zoning code. The Planning Commission and City Council have denied requests by the temple to rezone its property from "office or professional" to "residential."

ACLU attorney Belinda Helzer said news of the investigation "is encouraging."