Mauck
Baker,
LLC
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 16, 2015
_____________________________________________________________________
Liberty Baptist Church settles lawsuit with Crawford County
(Pittsburg, Kansas—June 16, 2015) Today, a consent order was entered in federal court allowing Liberty Baptist Church to worship at 1714 W. 20th St. in Crawford County. Church services, which are every Sunday morning at 10 a.m., will begin in July. The order brings a prompt end to the religious land use lawsuit which the church filed in April.
Before filing suit, Liberty Baptist twice applied to the county for a “conditional use permit.” Each time the Planning and Zoning Board determined that the church’s proposed use was suitable and beneficial to the area and voted to recommend approval. However, each time the County Commissioners rejected the board’s recommendation and voted to deny the church’s application.
“The congregation and I are happy to put this litigation behind us and look forward to sharing the truth, love, and forgiveness of Jesus to those in need in our community at our new location.” said Pastor Stallings. “We commend the commissioners and their counsel for not dragging this case out at great public expense.”
In the consent order, the Liberty Baptist agreed to plant shrubs along the southern border of the property and the county agreed to compensate the church for some of the costs and fees it had incurred. “We can all agree that there are better ways to spend tax payer dollars than fighting religious groups in our communities. No one benefits from dragging these cases out on the public dime.” said Liberty Baptist’s attorney Noel Sterett of Mauck & Baker, LLC, a Chicago law firm that handles religious land use cases across the country. View the complaint.
For press inquiries, contact attorney Noel Sterett at 312-726-6454 or nsterett@mauckbaker.com