Representing a significant victory for religious freedom, Sidley successfully represented The Seventh-Day Baptist Church of Daytona Beach, Florida, in its challenge against the City of Daytona Beach’s unconstitutional ordinance prohibiting only places of worship from operating food pantries within redevelopment areas. In response to a complaint drafted by Sidley, the Church prevailed on December 18, 2024, when the City adopted Ordinance No. 2024-500, which officially repealed the unconstitutional ordinance and struck it permanently from the City’s land development code.
For the last 16 years, the Church operated a food pantry in the City of Daytona Beach as a religious expression of its commitment to its Christian beliefs. The food pantry was a response to its belief that Christians were instructed and obliged to serve and care for the poor. In this way, the Church served over 80 families per week for years. Not just without issue, but often with public support and praise.
This all changed in the fall of 2023 when the City, responding to the complaints of politically connected residents contending that feeding programs would harm redevelopment efforts, suddenly began enforcing Land Development Code § 5.2.B.13.e.i.(c) against the Church. This ordinance prohibited places of worship—and only places of worship—from operating food pantries in a redevelopment area. The City cited the Church with a violation of the ordinance and warned that any future violation would result in a US$5,000 penalty. All this while secular organizations were operating food pantries in the very same redevelopment area without government intervention.
The Church, unable to sustain the financial burden, temporarily closed its food pantry and hired Sidley. Sidley filed a motion for a preliminary injunction and an amended complaint seeking to invalidate the ordinance as unconstitutional. The amended complaint challenged the City’s ordinance under the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”).
In response to the lawsuit, the City agreed to repeal the food pantry ordinance. On December 18, 2024, the City officially struck the food pantry ordinance from its code, repealing the unconstitutional law and allowing all places of worship to freely exercise their religious beliefs and continue their mission of feeding and caring for the poor.
Sidley’s successful representation of the Church embodies the firm’s long-standing commitment to ensuring that the promises enshrined in the Constitution stand observed and protected for all.
The Sidley litigation team included Gordon Todd, Dino LaVerghetta, Aaron Haviland, Jenny Becker (Washington, D.C.), and Brian Trujillo (Miami).
