ABSTRACT
The church argues that the ordinance is being interpreted to permit analogous indoor church activities while prohibiting outdoor activity on the parking lot, and any such prohibition would be an unconstitutional limitation on the church's freedom to choose its forms of worship and communal activity. The church attracts congregants from throughout the metropolitan area. The church responded to these problems by eliminating a thickly planted buffer strip surrounding a 50-car parking lot and expanding the paved area to accomodate 87 cars. The city notifies the church that the use of the parking lot for monthly sales is in violation of the zoning ordinance. The only ancillary uses permitted for a church in a residential area are parking, rectory, residences for clergy, and a school. The church points out that none of the analogous indoor activities of other churches—including annual auction sales, antique fairs, and lottery games—have been interfered with, presumably to avoid interference with religion.
