Kansas Town Reverses Decision To Evict Pastor From Church Parsonage And Settles Lawsuit

May 6, 2003

Mathew D. Staver

Mayetta, Kansas - The City of Mayetta, Kansas, agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by Pastor Terry Paine and the Prairie Band Baptist Church. The dispute arose when City officials ordered the Pastor and his family to vacate the church parsonage, because the parsonage is located on the ground floor of the church. Pastor Paine is represented by Attorneys Mathew D. Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel, and Joel L. Oster.

In December of 2001, Pastor Paine founded the Prairie Band Baptist Church in Mayetta, Kansas, as a ministry outreach to the Prairie Band Indian Tribe. The Church first encountered zoning problems when the Town refused to allow the Church to use its own building as a church. After much debate and a threat of a lawsuit, the Town informally agreed to allow the Church to use its building on Main Street. Immediately after the Church began operating, Town officials informed Pastor Paine that he could not live in the parsonage, because it was located on the ground floor of the Church. Across the street from the Church is a house with a first-floor residence, and the zoning code allows hotels, motels, and motor-hotels.

In the lawsuit, Pastor Paine contended that the Town unconstitutionally applied the "first-floor residence" exclusion against the Church, as essentially all of the surrounding buildings contain first-floor residences. The building immediately across from the front of the Church on Main Street is a house with a first-floor residence. All the buildings on the side of the Church are residential dwellings with first-floor residences. If Pastor Paine and his family were forced to vacate the Church parsonage, the Pastor could not financially survive, and without the Pastor, the Church would cease to exist. The Church has less than 25 members and "pays" the Pastor by allowing him free use of the parsonage. The Pastor works for the Church full-time ministering to the Prairie Band Indian Tribe.

Staver noted, "Historically, churches have always provided housing for pastors. From the time of ancient Israel, to the Catholic monasteries, to the modern-day church, it has always been the church's religious practice to provide housing for its ministers. Mayetta's zoning regulations substantially burden the Church's long-standing religious belief and practice, which the Constitution and the Religious Land Use Law prohibit." Staver added, "The Town of Mayetta allows hotels, motels, motor-hotels, and personal residences on the first floor. Only church parsonages have been targeted for discrimination. The Constitution and the Religious Land Use Law prevent such discrimination." Staver and the Pastor were very pleased with the settlement, which allows the Church to conduct worship services and to host the Pastor in the parsonage. As part of the settlement, the City was required to pay damages.

Mathew D. Staver, Esq.
Liberty Counsel
http://www.lc.org.

An Ally of the Alliance Defense Fund