Thanks to a correspondent, and not for the faint of heart, we have linked to a PDF of Sahag Mesrob Armenian Christian School's cross complaint, filed in federal district court. As we've noted earlier, LA County has filed suit against the school because it is operating without a valid permit; the school is responding with the cross-complaint by claiming, among other things, violations of its right to free practice of religion.
The county is trying to bring the matter back down to the superior court level. A hearing on this matter is scheduled for Feb. 23rd at 1:30 PM in federal court in downtown LA.
Snow said…
Wow, that’s really something. Interesting tactic for the school to refer to itself as ‘CHURCH’. I’ve been involved with a much smaller parochial school in Pasadena, and we had the CUP in place before opening. Further, regarding Sahag Mesrob’s experience of running a school in Pasadena without a CUP, wouldn’t the CUP have been issued by the incorporated city of Pasadena, rather than LA County? Perhaps the rules are different between the two jurisdictions. I also wonder about the degree to which other religious-affiliated schools obtain CUPs before opening their doors. If most of the Roman Catholic or Lutheran schools are abiding by the law, I would think it weakens ‘CHURCH’s case. Thanks for posting that link – the whole religious bias tack is an interesting one, although I notice they also mention a few cantankerous neighbors.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009 at 01:28 PM
Hugo said…
Church? High School? When did all this happen??????
Wednesday, February 04, 2009 at 07:04 PM
altadenablog said…
There are some pretty interesting ideas seeing the light of day in this filing.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009 at 07:43 PM
Amanda said…
I work for a city planning agency and we see these types of weak arguments all the time. It is very frustrating to us because we’re not trying to hurt anyone or prevent them from operating a use that may be permitted on the property. The CUP process is meant to ensure that the school is operating in such a way so that it and the neighbors are protected from harm or other unintended negative consequences.
For example, during the CUP process planners determine what or if conditions of approval related to hours of operation, parking, number of students etc… should be included as part of the approval. The school’s blatant disregard for the process shows how little respect they have for the neighborhood and the regulatory system that applies to everyone else (apparently they feel they are somehow exempt, I hate to burst their bubble, but even churches have to follow the rules).
Thursday, February 05, 2009 at 05:35 PM