Comments on: RLUIPA issues remain 10 years later /news/2010/06/09/rluipa-issues-remain-10-years-later/ Building and Construction News in Portland, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest Wed, 17 Sep 2014 19:35:55 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.6 By: john lindsey /news/2010/06/09/rluipa-issues-remain-10-years-later/#comment-28438 Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:46:54 +0000 /?p=54795#comment-28438 Thanks for your article. I think for whatever reason you have missed the key and problematic portion of what LCDC has done here.
In this process of adopting new rules I learned something about Oregon politics that I have long suspected but now my opinion has been cemented. Many of the motives to develop new rules was based on religous bigotry and racism. The racism portion takes fifteen minutes to see when looking as an observer to metro from the outside. The bigotry portion is the part that is disturbing. In the rush to rules, the dept and commission threw out the interest of the public by pursuing motivations beyond the federal law of constitutional principles of citizenship. At one point in one of these meetings a member of a land use watch dog group threw her hands up and lamented the fact that she had seen people praying in an open field! While seeking revenge on religous believers and free rights for association, the commission has now created an almost unattainable burden on public entities to maintain parks and recreation facilities among other things. I find it interesting that land use activist are intensly seeking to control “God” in whatever form, yet think it’s OK for the state to place institutionalized individuals in “private Jails” in rural areas. In a wierd twist of reverse religous belief, those that worship government and the leaders have won over those of other faiths. (I know what Jesus would do, we now have seen what Oregon does)The hilarity to all of this is will be the application of rules applied to Oregons wine industry. Our legislative and state leaders have gone out of the way for thier wine festivals and “wine taverns” built in EFU zones. It seems that wine that produces campaign contributions and profit to Oregon political leaders is more important than communal wine in areas of faith that does not materially profit man. The important part here is that lawyers from Portland lawfirms will make tons of money argueing this issue in court. The shame is the money wasted will all be public. Well, thats my opinion for what is worth.

John Lindsey
Commissioner
Linn County

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