Opinion

Thai Meditation Association of Alabama, Inc. v. City of Mobile, Alabama

  • 83 F.4th 922
Court
Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Filed
Oct 2, 2023
Status
Published
Nature of suit
NEW
Cited by
21 cases
Authority
More cited than 70.0%

The opinion

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[PUBLISH]

In the

United States Court of Appeals

For the Eleventh Circuit

____________________

No. 22-11674

____________________

THAI MEDITATION ASSOCIATION

OF ALABAMA, INC.,

(the “Center”),

SIVAPORN NIMITYONGSKUL,

VARIN NIMITYONGSKUL,

SERENA NIMITYONGSKUL,

PRASIT NIMITYONGSKUL,

Plaintiffs-Appellants,

versus

CITY OF MOBILE, ALABAMA,

Defendant-Appellee

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2 Opinion of the Court 22-11674

CITY OF MOBILE PLANNING

COMMISSION, et al.,

Defendants.

____________________

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Southern District of Alabama

D.C. Docket No. 1:16-cv-00395-TFM-MU

____________________

Before WILSON, JILL PRYOR, Circuit Judges, and CONWAY,* District

Judge.

WILSON, Circuit Judge:

In this long-running property use dispute, the plaintiffs, the

Thai Meditation Association of Alabama and four of its organizers

(collectively, TMAA), seek to convert a property zoned for residen-

tial use into a meditation center. In Thai Meditation Association of

Alabama v. City of Mobile, 980 F.3d 821 (11th Cir. 2020) (TMAA I), we

reviewed the outcome of a bench trial that ended in judgment for

the City of Mobile on all counts. We affirmed in part but remanded

three counts for further consideration. Id. at 841. The vacated and

* Honorable Anne C. Conway, United States District Judge for the Middle Dis-

trict of Florida, sitting by designation.

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22-11674 Opinion of the Court 3

remanded claims consisted of: (1) a substantial burden challenge

under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act

(RLUIPA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc(a)(1); (2) a Free Exercise challenge

under the First Amendment; and (3) a state law challenge under

the Alabama Constitution’s Religious Freedom Amendment

(ARFA). On remand, the district court granted summary judgment

to the City on all three counts, and this appeal followed.

After careful review of the record and with the benefit of

oral argument, we conclude that summary judgment was im-

proper, for either party, on the RLUIPA claim; summary judgment

was proper on the Free Exercise claim; and the City has failed to

carry its burden to satisfy strict scrutiny on the ARFA claim. Ac-

cordingly, we VACATE in part, AFFIRM in part, and REVERSE

in part.

I. Background

The details of this case were thoroughly recounted in TMAA

I, so we only recount the facts essential to this decision. TMAA is

a Buddhist religious organization belonging to the Dhammakaya

school of Buddhism. TMAA’s “purpose is teaching and research

into growth and development of mind and spirit through medita-

tion and expanding the knowledge of Buddhism.” TMAA I, 980

F.3d at 826 (cleaned up). TMAA has been seeking a permanent

home in Mobile, Alabama for several years now. In 2007, it oper-

ated out of a converted house in a residential neighborhood. After

neighbors complained and TMAA was unable to obtain the proper

zoning authorization, it moved to its present location inside a

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4 Opinion of the Court 22-11674

shopping center. Because this location is on a commercial street

and shares a building with commercial businesses, TMAA alleges it

is far too loud and disruptive for them to meditate—that is, to prac-

tice their religion. TMAA also alleges their current location is too

small to allow them to hold classes to teach others about their reli-

gion. Id.

In Mobile, there are two zoning classifications relevant to

this appeal. The first is the R-1 zoning designation, which allows

for residential usage as of right and allows for other uses—like reli-

gious uses—subject to “planning approval” by the Planning Com-

mission. The second is the commercial zoning designation, which

allows certain uses—including religious uses—by right. TMAA’s

first location, the converted house, was in an R-1 district. TMAA’s

second and current location is in a commercial district.

In 2015, TMAA bought the house that is the subject of this

litigation, the Eloong Drive property. Like TMAA’s original loca-

tion, the Eloong Drive property is located in an R-1 residential dis-

trict and thus required planning approval to be put to a religious

use. Before purchasing the property, TMAA engaged in pre-ap-

proval meetings with City officials, and TMAA alleges they re-

ceived positive feedback on their preliminary plans. When TMAA

finally submitted its application, it received immense pushback

from the public. Many public comments focused on, and objected

to, the Buddhist character of TMAA’s proposed usage. Some ques-

tioned whether TMAA’s usage was even religious at all. Some

commentors objected to TMAA’s application because of concerns

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22-11674 Opinion of the Court 5

about compatibility and traffic in the small neighborhood in which

the Eloong Drive property is located. Ultimately, noting those

compatibility concerns, the Planning Commission denied TMAA’s

application, and the City Council denied TMAA’s appeal. This suit

followed.

TMAA alleged six counts against the City, and the district

court originally ruled in favor of the City on all six counts. In TMAA

I, we vacated the district court’s analysis of the RLUIPA substantial

burden claim, the Free Exercise claim, and the ARFA claim. 980

F.3d at 841. On remand, the parties filed cross-motions for sum-

mary judgment on these three counts. The district court again

granted summary judgment to the City on all three claims. We

address each of these in turn.

II. Standard of Review

We review the district court’s grant or denial of summary

judgment de novo, applying the same legal standard as the district

court. Seff v. Broward Cnty., 691 F.3d 1221, 1222–23 (11th Cir. 2012).

Summary judgment is proper where, construing all facts in favor

of the non-movant, there is no genuine issue of any material fact

and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id. at

1223. This appeal arises from the district court’s resolution of

cross-motions for summary judgment. “In practice, cross motions

for summary judgment may be probative of the nonexistence of a

factual dispute.” Ga. State Conf. of NAACP v. Fayette Cnty., 775 F.3d

1336, 1345 (11th Cir. 2015) (cleaned up) (quoting Shook v. United

States, 713 F.2d 662, 665 (11th Cir. 1983)). But we have cautioned

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that the mere filing of cross-motions “do[es] not automatically em-

power the court” to enter summary judgment for one party. Id.

(quoting La Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v.

Voigt, 700 F.2d 341, 349 (7th Cir. 1983)). Instead, the district court

must methodically take each motion in turn and construe all the

facts in favor of the non-movant for each. If, after engaging in this

analysis, the district court determines no genuine issue of material

fact exists, then it may appropriately enter summary judgment for

a party.

III. RLUIPA Substantial Burden

“Congress sought, through RLUIPA, to protect religious

land uses from discriminatory processes used to exclude or other-

wise limit the location of churches and synagogues in municipali-

ties across the country.” Midrash Sephardi, Inc. v. Town of Surfside,

366 F.3d 1214, 1236 (11th Cir. 2004). Under RLUIPA,

(a)(1) No government shall impose or implement a

land use regulation in a manner that imposes a sub-

stantial burden on the religious exercise of a person,

including a religious assembly or institution, unless

the government demonstrates that imposition of the

burden on that person, assembly, or institution—

(A) is in furtherance of a compelling governmental

interest; and

(B) is the least restrictive means of furthering that

compelling governmental interest.

42 U.S.C. § 2000cc(a)(1).

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Shortly after the passage of RLUIPA, we interpreted this

substantial burden provision in Midrash Sephardi. There, we held

that “a ‘substantial burden’ must place more than an inconvenience

on religious exercise; a ‘substantial burden’ is akin to significant

pressure which directly coerces the religious adherent to conform

his or her behavior accordingly.” Midrash Sephardi, 366 F.3d at

1227. In TMAA I, we applied this standard and clarified that “it isn’t

necessary for a plaintiff to prove . . . that the government required

her to completely surrender her religious beliefs; modified behavior,

if the result of government coercion or pressure, can be enough.”

TMAA I, 980 F.3d at 831. We then articulated six factors that the

district court should consider on remand.1

1 The non-exhaustive factors include: (1) “whether the plaintiffs have demon-

strated a genuine need for new or more space—for instance, to accommodate

a growing congregation or to facilitate additional services or programming”;

(2) “the extent to which the City’s decision, and the application of its zoning

policy more generally, effectively deprives the plaintiffs of any viable means

by which to engage in protected religious exercise”; (3) “whether there is a

meaningful ‘nexus’ between the allegedly coerced or impeded conduct and

the plaintiffs’ religious exercise”; (4) “whether the City’s decisionmaking pro-

cess concerning the plaintiffs’ applications reflects any arbitrariness of the sort

that might evince animus or otherwise suggests that the plaintiffs have been,

are being, or will be . . . jerked around”; (5) “whether the City’s denial of the

plaintiffs’ zoning applications was final or whether, instead, the plaintiffs had

(or have) an opportunity to submit modified applications that might satisfy the

City’s objections”; and (6) “whether the alleged burden is properly attributable

to the government . . . or whether the burden is instead self-imposed.” TMAA

I, 980 F.3d at 831–32 (footnotes omitted).

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While we received extensive briefing on how to apply this

framework, including from five groups of amici curiae, we will not

reach the merits of this issue today. Despite the parties’ represen-

tation that there are no disputed facts remaining in this case, we

cannot see how that is true. For one thing, in the district court,

both TMAA and the City filed lengthy objections to the other’s

statement of undisputed facts and substituted their own statements

of undisputed facts. See NAACP, 775 F.3d at 1345 (noting this situa-

tion suggests summary judgment is inappropriate). Moreover, as

will be discussed below, these factual disputes are both genuine and

material. Accordingly, due to these disputes, the district court

should not have entered summary judgment for either party in this

case on the RLUIPA count.

We provide two illustrative—though not exhaustive—ex-

amples of material factual disputes that remain. One of the factors

relates to whether there are alternative sites for TMAA to use.

TMAA I, 980 F.3d at 832. The City argues that TMAA owns a 100-

acre parcel that would be suitable for its meditation center.

TMAA’s land-use expert has opined that this site is unsuitable for

TMAA’s intended use. The availability of a large property similar

to the Eloong Drive property would weigh heavily on this factor.

A factual dispute like this on a key factor precludes the issuance of

summary judgment at this stage.

Similarly, another factor deals with whether the Planning

Commission’s denial of TMAA’s application reflected arbitrariness.

Id. TMAA cites several specific instances of the Planning

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Commission deviating from its typical procedure, failing to work

with TMAA, and allegedly editing the minutes of its meetings to

obscure the true reason for the denial of planning approval. The

City disputes that there were any irregularities in its processes, and

denies the minutes were edited. Again, only one of these accounts

can be right, and it bears on an important factor of the substantial-

burden analysis laid out in TMAA I.

Because factual disputes like these preclude the issuance of

summary judgment to either party, we vacate the entry of sum-

mary judgment on the RLUIPA count.2

IV. Free Exercise Clause

Turning next to the district court’s entry of summary judg-

ment on TMAA’s First Amendment Free Exercise claim. In TMAA

I, we directed the district court to independently evaluate the Free

Exercise claim, rather than cross-reference its analysis of—and ex-

pressly tether its rejection to—the RLUIPA substantial burden is-

sue. TMAA I, 980 F.3d at 833. However, on remand, the district

2 One option available to the district court in this situation would have been

to convert the cross-motions for summary judgment into a bench trial. See

NAACP, 775 F.3d at 1345–46 (describing this option); see also Voigt, 700 F.2d at

349. If the court had done so, it would have proceeded under Federal Rule of

Civil Procedure 52, which would have mandated compliance with Rule 52(a)’s

requirement that findings of fact and conclusions of law be entered. See Fed.

R. Civ. P. 52(a)(1). If this option had been taken, there would be a clear factual

record enabling our review of the district court’s legal conclusions. But that

did not happen here. Instead, the district court entered summary judgment in

this matter and that is how the parties have addressed the issues on appeal.

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court carried over much of its original analysis after briefly con-

cluding that “Plaintiffs have not shown the Zoning Ordinance tar-

geted religious practices or imposed burdens on religious conduct

in a selective manner[, therefore] rational basis review applies.”

Again, this was error. In light of this error, we will review the rec-

ord to determine whether the City was properly entitled to sum-

mary judgment on TMAA’s Free Exercise claim. See Gundy v. City

of Jacksonville, 50 F.4th 60, 70 (11th Cir. 2022) (“We may affirm the

judgment of the district court on any ground supported by the rec-

ord, regardless of whether that ground was relied upon or even

considered by the district court.”) (citations omitted).

The Free Exercise Clause provides that “Congress shall

make no law . . . prohibiting the free exercise [of religion].” U.S.

Const. amend. I. However, government action may incidentally

burden religious practices—subject to rational basis review—so

long as it is both “neutral” and “generally applicable.” Emp. Div.,

Dep’t of Hum. Res. of Or. v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872, 880 (1990). The Su-

preme Court recently clarified these two principles:

A government policy will not qualify as neutral if it is

“specifically directed at . . . religious practice.” . . . A

government policy will fail the general applicability

requirement if it “prohibits religious conduct while

permitting secular conduct that undermines the gov-

ernment’s asserted interests in a similar way,” or if it

provides “a mechanism for individualized exemp-

tion.”

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Kennedy v. Bremerton Sch. Dist., 142 S. Ct. 2407, 2422 (2022) (citations

omitted). Notably, we have found the enforcement of zoning or-

dinances as both neutral and generally applicable. See First Assembly

of God of Naples, Fla., Inc. v. Collier Cnty., 20 F.3d 419, 422–24 (11th

Cir. 1994). Several of our sister circuits have come to the same

conclusion.3

Here, the R-1 zoning designation process satisfies Smith’s re-

quirements. First, the planning approval process is neutral. We

affirmed that TMAA failed to prove that a majority of the Planning

Commission acted with an intent to discriminate on the basis of

religion, TMAA I, 980 F.3d at 836, and because TMAA raised only

general applicability challenges in their present brief, they have

abandoned any additional neutrality arguments on appeal. See

Sapuppo v. Allstate Floridians Ins. Co., 739 F.3d 678, 680 (11th Cir.

2014). Second, the R-1 planning approval process does not provide

the type of discretionary exemption that violates general applica-

bility. When a use requires planning approval, the ordinances im-

pose specific criteria that guide the approval or denial of a particu-

lar use. 4 While the approval process necessarily requires individual

3 See, e.g., Grace United Methodist Church v. City of Cheyenne, 451 F.3d 643, 651

(10th Cir. 2006); C.L. for Urban Believers v. City of Chicago, 342 F.3d 752, 764–65

(7th Cir. 2003); Lighthouse Inst. for Evangelism, Inc. v. City of Long Branch, 510

F.3d 253, 277 (3d Cir. 2007).

4 The use must be “appropriate with regard to transportation and access, wa-

ter supply, waste disposal, fire and police protection and other public facili-

ties”; not cause “undue traffic congestion or create[e] a traffic hazard”; and be

“in harmony with the orderly and appropriate development of the district in

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12 Opinion of the Court 22-11674

assessment, it is not sufficient to establish an individualized exemp-

tion. The criteria apply to all property uses eligible for approval,

religious or secular. Furthermore, the scheme does not allow for

the kind of blanket discretionary mechanism that historically fails

Smith’s general applicability requirement. See Fulton v. City of Phil-

adelphia, 141 S. Ct. 1868, 1878 (2021) (holding that a city official’s

“sole discretion” to deny exceptions from the non-discrimination

referral provision for a Catholic adoption center is not generally

applicable).

As a result, Mobile’s R-1 zoning designation process is both

neutral and generally applicable, subjecting it to rational basis re-

view. Because rational basis review is “highly deferential to gov-

ernment action,” we agree that the City’s asserted interests in traf-

fic safety and zoning are “rationally related to a legitimate govern-

ment interest.” See Jones v. Governor of Fla., 950 F.3d 795, 809 (11th

Cir. 2020) (per curiam). We therefore affirm the entry of summary

judgment on TMAA’s Free Exercise count.

V. Alabama Religious Freedom Amendment

Turning now to TMAA’s state constitutional law claim. The

ARFA’s purpose “is to guarantee that the freedom of religion is not

burdened by state and local law; and to provide a claim or defense

to persons whose religious freedom is burdened by government.”

Ala. Const. amend. 622, § III. The ARFA applies to local

which the use is located.” See Mobile Code of Ordinances § 64-12(1)(b)

(amended and reincorporated in 2022).

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governments, like the City of Mobile, id. § IV(3), and provides that

they “shall not burden a person’s freedom of religion” unless the

city can demonstrate that the burden is the least restrictive means

of achieving a compelling government interest. Id. §§ V(a), V(b).

Thus, ARFA, like RLUIPA, requires the government’s action to sat-

isfy strict scrutiny to survive review. However, the ARFA is trig-

gered by a much lower burden on religious freedom than RLUIPA.

While RLUIPA requires a “substantial” burden, we held in TMAA I

that under ARFA, “any burden—even an incidental or insubstantial

one—suffices to trigger strict scrutiny.” TMAA I, 980 F.3d at 840.

We also held that TMAA’s efforts to construct a meditation

center and relocate to a site more conducive to their religious prac-

tices implicated TMAA’s religious freedom rights. Id. at 829.

While it is still uncertain at this stage whether the City’s planning

decision is a substantial burden on TMAA’s rights, it clearly is a bur-

den. It therefore clears TMAA I’s low bar to trigger ARFA’s strict

scrutiny review.

Before turning to the strict scrutiny analysis, we first address

the City’s threshold argument that the ARFA simply does not apply

to zoning decisions like the one at issue here. The ARFA broadly

applies to “[a]ny government statute, regulation, ordinance, ad-

ministrative provision, ruling guideline, requirement, or any state-

ment of law whatever.” Ala. Const. amend. 622, § IV(4); see also id.

§ VI(a) (“This amendment applies to all government rules and im-

plementations thereof, whether statutory or otherwise . . . .”). The

City’s zoning regulations and approval decisions fall within the

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14 Opinion of the Court 22-11674

wide breadth of this definition. The City argues the ARFA’s con-

ception of “religious freedom” is co-extensive with Article I, § 3 of

the Alabama Constitution, and thus narrower than that of the First

Amendment.

We decline to accept this argument because it is contrary to

the observed practice of Alabama courts interpreting the Alabama

Constitution’s guarantee of freedom of religion in lockstep with

the federal Constitution’s First Amendment guarantees. See, e.g.,

Ex parte Hilley, 405 So. 2d 708, 711 (Ala. 1981) (“Viewed in the light

of the free exercise clauses of the United States Constitution,

amend. I, and the Alabama Constitution, art. I, § 3 . . . .”); Rheuark

v. State, 601 So. 2d 135,139–40 (Ala. Crim. App. 1992) (citing United

States Supreme Court precedent to resolve a challenge under both

the federal First Amendment and the Alabama Constitution). And

the Alabama Supreme Court has expressly held that Article I, § 3 of

the Alabama Constitution is “not more restrictive than the Federal

Establishment of Religion Clause in the First Amendment to the

United States Constitution.” Alabama Educ. Ass’n v. James, 373 So.

2d 1076, 1081 (Ala. 1979); see also id. (describing Article I, § 3 as “the

Alabama counterpart of the Religion Clauses of the First Amend-

ment to the United States Constitution” (emphasis added)). All of

this evidence tends to cast doubt on the City’s cabined view of the

Alabama Constitution’s protections for religious freedom.

Finally, we are persuaded that a narrow cabining of ARFA

would be inconsistent with its ratification context, see Ala. Const.

amend. 622, § II(4)–(6) (describing ARFA in the context of federal

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22-11674 Opinion of the Court 15

constitutional law developments in Employment Division v. Smith,

494 U.S. 872 (1990) and City of Boerne v. Flores, 521 U.S. 507 (1997)), 5

and its broad remedial purpose, id. § VII(a) (“This amendment shall

be liberally construed to effectuate its remedial and deterrent pur-

poses.”). Given this evidence, we feel comfortable rejecting the

City’s argument that ARFA and Article I, § 3 of the Alabama Con-

stitution have a narrower conception of religious freedom than the

First Amendment. And accordingly, we conclude that the ARFA

applies to the City’s zoning decision to the extent that it restricts

TMAA’s, or its members’, right to worship freely and practice their

religion as they conceive it.

* * *

Having resolved that threshold question, we turn to the

strict scrutiny analysis. To survive strict scrutiny under ARFA, the

City must carry its burden to demonstrate that its planning decision

is the least restrictive means to achieve a compelling government

interest. Ala. Const. amend. 622, § V(b). A compelling govern-

ment interest is one that advances “interests of the highest order.”

Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah, 508 U.S. 520, 546

(1993). Further, “generalized statement[s] of interests, unsup-

ported by specific and reliable evidence” will not do. See Davila v.

Gladden, 777 F.3d 1198, 1206 (11th Cir. 2015). Allowing govern-

ment entities to state their interest at the highest levels of

5 Compare with Midrash Sephardi, 366 F.3d at 1236–37 (describing a similar con-

text for RLUIPA).

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16 Opinion of the Court 22-11674

generality permits them to shrug off the heavy burden that strict

scrutiny analysis is designed to impose.

Here, the district court concluded that the city satisfied strict

scrutiny because denial of TMAA’s application was the least restric-

tive means to further “[t]he City’s interest to preserve the character

of the property and the surrounding neighborhood.” Thai Medita-

tion Ass’n of Ala. v. City of Mobile, 599 F. Supp. 3d 1120, 1144 (S.D.

Ala. 2022) The City also argues that concerns about increased traf-

fic at the Eloong Drive Property constitute a compelling govern-

ment interest. We find these asserted interests lacking.

To begin, we have never held that neighborhood character

or zoning are compelling government interests sufficient to justify

abridging core constitutional rights. Indeed, in Solantic, LLC v. City

of Neptune Beach, we held that “aesthetics and traffic safety” were

not compelling government interests justifying content-based re-

strictions on signs. 410 F.3d 1250, 1267–69 (11th Cir. 2005). Simi-

larly, a group of amici curiae in this case direct us to Dimmit v. City

of Clearwater, 985 F.2d 1565, 1570 (11th Cir. 1993), where we again

held that “visual aesthetics and traffic safety . . . [are] not a compel-

ling state interest” in the First Amendment speech context. Those

amici also note that generalized, high-level invocations of “zoning”

are often used to target minority faith’s land use applications. See

Br. of Amicus Curiae of the General Conference of Seventh-Day

Adventists, et al., at 25–26. These concerns underscore why it is

necessary to hold government entities to their burden to state and

support a well-defined government interest.

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The City notes that we said in Grosz v. City of Miami Beach,

721 F.2d 729 (11th Cir. 1983) that “zoning objectives” were a “sig-

nificant” government interest. Id. at 738–40. Grosz is of little per-

suasive weight here because it was decided under an ad hoc balanc-

ing framework and not the strict scrutiny, “compelling govern-

ment” interest framework we apply today. See id. at 740. We think

that Grosz means what it says: “zoning objectives” may be “signifi-

cant” government interests and may justify government action in

a different balancing context. However, the ARFA requires that

the government’s interest be “compelling,” and vague, generalized

invocations of government interests in “zoning” and “neighbor-

hood character” are insufficient to carry the government’s burden.

Here, the City has failed to carry its burden to demonstrate

a compelling government interest. The generalized invocations of

neighborhood character and zoning fail as a matter of law under

our precedents. The City’s invocation of traffic concerns fare

slightly better because they are specific to the Eloong Drive prop-

erty, but they are unsubstantiated in the record. The City’s own

traffic engineer testified that there would be no traffic safety issues

at the Eloong Drive property site from a traffic engineering per-

spective. That engineer further testified that the increase in the

number of vehicles traveling along the streets to the Eloong Drive

property would not be substantial if TMAA’s application were ap-

proved. However, the engineer did testify that the increase in traf-

fic would be large in terms of a percentage change because the

roads are so infrequently used presently. The City discusses at

length the statements of neighbors living near the Eloong Drive

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18 Opinion of the Court 22-11674

Property to substantiate its concerns about traffic. But review of

these statements reveals that they are the same generalized, some-

times speculative, concerns that we have cautioned are inappropri-

ate. To carry its burden to demonstrate a compelling government

interest, the City must present more evidence of its interest, and

that evidence must be specific. The City must link its concerns to

the particular details, and alleged ills, posed by TMAA’s applica-

tion. Because it failed to do so, it was not entitled to summary

judgment in this matter. Further, unlike the RLUIPA and Free Ex-

ercise claims there are no disputed facts remaining for this issue.

The testimony of the city engineer, and the neighbors at the Plan-

ning Commission meeting are in the record and are insufficient to

support that the City has a compelling government interest in

denying TMAA’s application. Accordingly, we reverse the entry of

summary judgment on this count and direct the district court to

enter judgment for TMAA.

VI. Conclusion

Because there are factual disputes relating to the burden that

the City has imposed on TMAA, summary judgment was improper

on the RLUIPA substantial claim. Accordingly, we VACATE the

entry of summary judgment on that count. Because the City’s

planning approval process satisfies rational basis review, summary

judgment was proper on the Free Exercise claim. Accordingly, we

AFFIRM the entry of summary judgment on that count. Because

the City is imposing a burden on TMAA’s religious freedom, and

because it has failed to carry its burden to demonstrate a compel-

ling government interest, TMAA is entitled to judgment on the

USCA11 Case: 22-11674 Document: 79-1 Date Filed: 10/02/2023 Page: 19 of 19

22-11674 Opinion of the Court 19

ARFA claim. Accordingly, we REVERSE the entry of summary

judgment on the ARFA claim and REMAND with instructions to

enter judgment for TMAA.

VACATED in part, AFFIRMED in part, and REVERSED

in part, REMANDED with instructions.

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