WHAT THE LAW SAYS
The 2000 Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act limits a city's control over where places of worship locate and expand.
• Cities cannot enact land use regulations that impose a "substantial burden" on a person's religious practice.
• Any limits must be set by the "least restrictive means."
• People challenging a regulation must prove that it imposes a substantial burden on the exercise of religion.
• Local governments must pay attorneys' fees for any plaintiff who successfully challenges a regulation.
