Editor’s note: U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin Chang on Jan. 5 consolidated Hale O Kaula’s lawsuit against Maui County with the case filed by the U.S. Justice Department. Trial was to begin Feb. 18 in Hale O Kaula’s lawsuit, but the consolidation means that both cases now will go to trial as one on Nov. 16.

HONOLULU — Maui County has been dealt a setback in its ongoing legal battle involving a church seeking to expand and hold services at its rural property.

U.S. District Judge Samuel King yesterday dismissed the county's request to throw out a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department in July on behalf of Hale O Kaula church.

The lawsuit, being allowed to proceed, contends that the county's refusal to grant a permit to the church violates the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. The law, known as RLUIPA, requires municipalities to show a compelling interest, such as public safety, before denying a religious group's zoning request.

The county argued that the federal government had no right to tell state and county governments how to decide local land issues such as zoning.

King ruled that the U.S. government argument does have standing and that RLUIPA is constitutional. He did not, however, rule on motions from each side seeking a summary judgment in the case.

Hale O Kaula's case is aided by the Washington-based Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. Becket spokesman Patrick Korten said King's decision was consistent with many other federal court rulings.

"Maui is going to have to come to terms with the fact that it must explain why it has been violating RLUIPA after two years of stalling and trying everything in the books," Korten said.

Calls to Maui County's corporation counsel went unanswered today.

The Justice Department lawsuit was the second filed in Hale O Kaula's bid to expand its church building and hold services at property it owns in rural Pukalani. King has ruled that the earlier suit would be decided on First Amendment grounds, rather than on the basis of RLUIPA.

The church, affiliated with the Living Word Fellowship Bible-teaching ministry, sued after the Maui County Planning Commission in August 2001 denied its application for a special use permit for a second time. The permit is needed because the land is zoned for agriculture, and religious services are prohibited.

Attorneys for Hale O Kaula have requested to combine the two lawsuits to conserve court resources and save money. An attorney for Maui County disagreed, saying the move would further delay a trial in the lawsuit that was filed in October 2001 and originally scheduled for trial last December.