New Jersey religious institutions can’t be excluded from certain public preservation funds after a district court on Thursday permanently enjoined the state from enforcing the rule.
Judge Evelyn Padin of the US District Court for the District of New Jersey granted a permanent injunction in favor of Mendham Methodist Church and Zion Lutheran Church Long Valley. The churches sued Morris County, N.J., after being denied historic preservation grants in 2022.
- Padin issued a preliminary injunction in November 2024 barring the enforcement of the preservation funding rule, which restricted buildings “currently used for religious purposes or functions.”
- Section 5.6.4 of the ...