Welcome to the first Pocket Park Episode! These episodes are shorter and focus on current events, stories, studies, etc, that are happening right now in the world. 

In this episode, Shelley and Mary, focus on a case in Brookings, Oregon that revolves around the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). Will it have lasting impacts on religious institutions and land use across the United States? How can planners avoid situations where they get in hot water around the RLUIPA? What would constitute a time when the RLUIPA would be relevant? We get into it all! 

Sources from the episode:

• "Justice Department Files Statement of Interest in Religious Land Use Case Involving Oregon Church That Feeds People Who are Homeless or Hungry", US Dept. of Justice, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-statement-interest-religious-land-use-case-involving-oregon-church
• "The Quiet Religious-Freedom Fight that is Remaking America" The Atlantic, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/11/rluipa/543504/
• "Update on the Justice Department's Enforcement of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act: 2010-2016", US Dept. of Justice, https://www.justice.gov/d9/07-22-16_rluipa_report.pdf
• "RLUIPA Compliance Tips" APA Planning Magazine, https://www.planning.org/login/?next=/planning/2018/jan/legallessons/
• "What Constitutes a 'Substantial Burden' under RLUIPA?" Zoning Practice, https://www.planning.org/publications/document/9006935/

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