Toot Toot!

Newark, CA Planning Commission rejects independent Protestant church's conditional use permit application.

Attorneys with the Pacific Justice Institute, a nonprofit organization that works on behalf of churches, said the city would be in violation of the law if it denies Fremont Bible Fellowship's application.

The Religious Land Use Act, passed in 2000, "prohibits cities from outright excluding churches from areas simply because they are religious institutions, unless they have compelling reason," said attorney Roger Ho.