“Zoning restrictions that intentionally target religious communities have no place in our society,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. The complaint alleged that the intent of the ordinances was to prevent Orthodox Jewish schools from opening in the Township and thereby dissuade members of that community from living in or moving to Jackson.

Township councilmembers voted unanimously to enact the ordinances. The township enacted a series of discriminatory zoning ordinances that intentionally targeted the Orthodox Jewish community by prohibiting religious schools and associated dormitories. At the time, there were public comments advocating the ordinances be enacted to prevent the Orthodox Jewish community from living in or moving to Jackson. The complaint filed in lawsuit in May 2020 alleged that in 2017, Jackson Township enacted two ordinances that banned dormitories and severely restricted where religious schools could locate in response to the growth of the Orthodox Jewish community in Jackson and surrounding areas. The Justice Department today announced an agreement with the Township of Jackson, New Jersey, and the Jackson Planning Board to settle allegations that the Township and Planning Board violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) and the Fair Housing Act (FHA). By Hamodia Staff Jackson Township Municipal Building.

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