Tarr vs. Multnomah County

Today the court of appeals issued a favorable decision for our client, Masjid Ibrahim, a local mosque.  The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that under a state law that had before been previously largely ignored (ORS 215.441), that counties cannot lawfully apply “compatibility” type standards to religious land uses that are otherwise allowable in the zone.  This is an important case for religious land uses.  Without this case, counties applied “compatibility” standards to houses of worship which opponents used as a poison pill to justify denial.  Today’s decision is a welcome relief for siting religious land uses in Oregon!