Rev. Danny Fisher

Somehow I managed to miss this story last month, even as I was scouring the internet for information about the passing of Cambodian Buddhist patriarch (and New England resident) Maha Ghosananda.

It’s a piece from the Hartford Courant about the Cambodian Buddhist Society of Connecticut’s struggle to get the permit necessary for them to build a temple on ten acres that they own in Newton. Staff writer Lynne Tuohy explains:

The state Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on whether Newtown’s denial of a special permit for the temple rises to a violation of state and federal laws that bar political entities from putting undue burdens on the exercise of religious freedom.

[...]

Newtown officials and neighbors on Boggs Hill Road oppose use of the rural property for a temple that could attract up to 450 people on the handful of days when religious festivals are held.

The Newtown Planning and Zoning Commission, in its unanimous decision in February 2003 denying the special permit application, stated in part: “Although the commission would welcome the Buddhist religion into the community, the planned and expected future level of activity proposed … is too intense.”

Attorney Robert Fuller, representing the commission, and attorney Thomas Beecher, who represents neighbors opposed to the temple, both argued that the decision does not hinder or burden the exercise of religion, but states only that the location is not appropriate for a temple.

The commission initially gave six reasons for its denial of the permit application, including that the Asian architecture would have a negative impact on property values and was not in harmony with the area’s traditional New England architecture. Superior Court Judge Deborah Kochiss Frankel ruled that five of the commission’s reasons were unsubstantiated, but upheld the decision based on the commission’s concern that the society had not yet obtained well and septic permits.

Michael Zizka, attorney for the Cambodian Buddhist Society of Connecticut, goes on to explain that the issue of well and septic permits has not been taken care of because the organization wants to be sure they can build on the land before they invest in a well and septic system.

[Zizka] succinctly explained [the permit delays] to the justices: “This is not a society that is flush with money.”

He later said outside the court that the society does not want to invest in a well and septic system if it doesn’t have a building permit. He said it was the jurisdiction of the local and state departments of health, and not the planning and zoning commission, to oversee septic and drinking water concerns.

According to article, the court will not render a decision for at least several months. In the meantime, the Supreme Court justices will wade through a significant amount of material presented and invoked in court.

The case will require the justices to analyze both the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and the state’s Religious Freedom Act in the context of the proposed temple. Fuller argued that those laws don’t mandate special treatment for religious groups; Zizka countered that they do. In his brief, Zizka cast the commission’s denial as thinly veiled discrimination.

Justices Peter Zarella and Richard Palmer both commented that the state’s Religious Freedom Act is “a significant overlay” on established law. They and Justice Flemming L. Norcott Jr. asked Fuller why the commission didn’t approve the permit with the condition that well and septic permits be obtained before the start of construction.

Bruce Blair, Yale University’s Buddhist chaplain and director of Indigo Blue, a Buddhist community center at the university, was present outside of the courthouse and spoke to the Courant about the situation:

It ends up being a question of the integrity and legitimacy of the faith…[The temple could be a] place wherein the faith can be handed from one generation to the next…To deny [the Cambodian Buddhist Society of Connecticut] that liberty is to extinguish the very life of the community. It is to finish the work of Pol Pot. It is something that is so wrong.

Here’s hoping that this situation is resolved and that the Cambodian Buddhist Society of Connecticut can realize thier dream of a temple. I’ll keep you posted as I find out more.