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Zoning's War on Cuddly Animals, Cute Kids, and Christian Charity
Housing Policy
Zoning's War on Cuddly Animals, Cute Kids, and Christian Charity
A recent string of zoning controversies show how land use regulations have become the enemy of all good things.
Christian Britschgi | 4.7.2026 9:15 AM
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Happy Tuesday, and welcome to another edition of Rent Free. As interesting as zoning policy is, writing about it can sometimes feel a little dry.
Writing and reading about local code updates and state legislative reforms can sometimes cause one to forget that zoning is the sum of all evils and the enemy of all good things.
To remind myself and loyal readers of that fact, this week's newsletter includes stories on zoning's war against cuddly animals, cute kids, and Christian charity.
An Ohio court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by the fire chief of Bryon, Ohio, against a local church that had let people stay on its property overnight. A North Carolina court recently sided with the city of Winston-Salem in its efforts to shut down a local animal sanctuary, only because the sanctuary allowed people to visit the property. A new Manhattan Institute report details the exodus of families with young children from America's large, urban areas, and what can be done to coax them back.Ohio Town Loses Civil Case Against Church's Overnight Ministry
This past week, an Ohio judge dismissed a civil lawsuit brought by the fire chief of Bryon, Ohio, against a local church that had been letting people stay on its property during its overnight ministry.
Fire Chief Douglas Pool's suit argued that local church Dad's Place had converted its property to a residential use by allowing nightly stays without getting the proper zoning approvals or adopting all the fire safety measures required of residential properties.
Rent Free Newsletter by Christian Britschgi. Get more of Christian's urban regulation, development, and zoning coverage.
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His lawsuit demanded that Dad's Place stop its nighttime ministry until it installed a sprinkler system.
Dad's Place, and its pastor, Chris Avell, contended that the expense of installing a sprinkler system was cost-prohibitive for the church. The requirement to install one was thus an effective demand to shut down their nighttime ministry, which the church argued violated their Free Exercise rights.
Williams County Judge James D. Bates ruled that Pool's sprinkler-or-shutter demand was an unconstitutional restriction on Dad's Place's First Amendment rights to Free Exercise of religion.
In order to pass constitutional muster, Pool's demands for fire safety features had to further a "compelling interest" of the government's with the least restrictive means on Dad's Place—a standard known as strict scrutiny.
Bates wrote that because the city had waived the sprinkler requirement for nearby hotels but not Dad's Place, it had failed that strict scrutiny standard. He dismissed Pool's lawsuit with prejudice.
The ruling is only the latest episode in a long-running dispute between Bryon and Avell, who the city accuses of operating an illegal........
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