WASHINGTON, D.C. – The federal government is suing a Michigan township after local officials denied an Islamic school’s request for a zoning change to build a new facility on vacant land.

The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Detroit alleging Pittsfield Township violated of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person Act by denying a request by the Michigan Islamic Academy for zoning approval to build a new school in 2011, The Detroit News reports.

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The lawsuit explains that the Muslim Community Association of Ann Arbor operates a school in the city, but sought to build in Pittsfield Township because the school currently doesn’t have enough room “for a cafeteria, computer or science labs, private space for guidance counseling, a gymnasium, locker rooms, auditorium, library, kitchen, or adequate administrative space,” according to the federal lawsuit cited by the news site.

“The prohibits the government from imposing land use regulations that substantially burden religious exercise unless there is a compelling government interest and uses the least restrictive means of doing so,” U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuate told The Detroit News.

“This complaint alleges that Pittsfield Township denied the Michigan Islamic Academy’s request to build a school in violation of that law,” she said. “We filed this lawsuit to protect the right of all Americans to practice their religion and receive the religious instruction and education of their choice.”

The news site reports the Muslim Community Association submitted their proposal for the 26.9 acre parcel it owns in Pittsfield Township in June 2011 and local officials held a series of community meetings until August, when the planning commission recommended against approving the school because concerns about traffic, noise and light at the site.

The Association, which initially also proposed a community center and prayer hall for the property, amended its request to remove those plans and request only a school at the site. Regardless, the township board ultimately agreed with the planning commission and denied the proposal in October 2011, prompting a lawsuit by the Association the following year.

According to MLive.com, the board voted unanimously to reject the rezoning request amid a lot of public opposition.

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From MLive.com:

Planning commissioners voting against plans stated concerns regarding internal traffic circulation and potential for new traffic issues on Golfside and Ellsworth. They also feared site lighting and noise would disturb residents in the neighboring Silverleaf subdivision, and several stated that plans didn’t include adequate landscape screening.

Many Silverleaf residents were vocal in their opposition to the project throughout the planning approval process.

The township also argued that the proposed building is not a “small-scale school” as is permitted by its master plan. The land is zoned residential PUD and would have needed to be rezoned for the school to be built.

That Association’s lawsuit was dismissed by a Detroit judge in March, but the Association has appealed that decision, according to The Detroit News.

“Religious freedom is a cornerstone of our society, and that freedom includes being able to create the institutions and physical spaces needed for worship, religious education and other aspects of religious exercise,” Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, wrote in a prepared statement.

“The Justice Department is committed to ensuring all religious groups enjoy the right to practice their faiths freely, and will continue to challenge local land use decisions that substantially burden religious exercise.”

The Justice Department statement points out, “The complaint is an allegation of unlawful conduct. The allegations must still be proven in federal court.”

The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 “contains multiple provisions prohibiting religious discrimination and protecting against unjustified burdens on religious exercise,” according to the Justice Department.