California City Council Fines Small Church $300,000 for Helping Homeless

A small church in Northern California is appealing a massive fine of more than $300,000 to resume its homeless ministry after local officials shut it down, a non-profit legal defense group reports. 

The Pacific Justice Institute is representing City Church 242 in Fairfield, California in a battle against local officials who essentially shut down the operations of the church's outreach program where they "feed the hungry, care for the sick, clothe the naked, and offer hospitality to strangers."

"While Fairfield plays petty politics, the most vulnerable suffer," said Matt McReynolds, PJI's Deputy Chief Counsel who is leading the firm's efforts on the church's behalf.  "With winter now approaching, it's time for the city to abandon these retaliatory, strong-arm tactics and reopen this life-saving refuge."

According to PJI, Pastor Scott Mulvey came to City Church Fairfield in 2007. Mulvey saw an opportunity to serve the community's most needy and started an outreach program. 

As California's homeless population began to explode, the program expanded. 

The church "offered food to anyone in need, no questions asked" and even allowed people living out of their vehicles to safely park and sleep overnight on their property before heading to work during the day. 

Eventually, the church opened a free medical clinic, with volunteer doctors and nurses. It also gave homeless men and women a permanent way off the streets through a residential work training program.

The community and city officials applauded CCF for its outreach program, with the city even partnering with the church to provide tents for those staying on the property.

But that all changed in 2022 after residents fed up with the city's response to the homeless crisis urged Pastor Mulvey to run for City Council, PJI noted. 

"After more than 15 years of ministry to the needy, the church suddenly found itself besieged with a barrage of enforcement actions," the legal group stated in a press release. "The city ordered the removal of military surplus tents and even red-tagged the tents it had given to the church. The city shuttered the free medical clinic. It ordered the dispersal of the men and women in the residential job training program. And it threatened that vehicles parked overnight on church property would be towed."

Over the last two years, the church has bent over backward to comply with "bureaucratic red tape," including upgrading its building and meeting with officials. 

Now, the city says it will conditionally approve the resumption of some church outreaches—but only if the small church pays more than $300,000 in fines.

PJI is appealing the fine and will engage in a public hearing on the matter before the Fairfield Planning Commission on October 9. 
 
"The more we delve into this disturbing situation, the more shocking it becomes," said Brad Dacus, founder and president of PJI. "For more than a dozen years, this church had quietly and effectively served the needy. But when the pastor began speaking out on local issues, city officials retaliated in ways that are hurting those least able to advocate for themselves."

This is just the latest example where churches are being penalized for outreaches to the poor and needy. 

As CBN News reported, The Rock, a church in Castle Rock, Colorado, is suing their city to maintain its homeless ministry after local officials tried to shut it down.

Seventh-Day Baptist Church of Daytona, Florida, is urging the court to stop the City of Daytona Beach from blocking its outreach program of distributing food to those in need. 

Last year, a North Carolina pastor was fined $60,000 for operating a homeless shelter on property zoned for a church. 

In Byron, Ohio, Pastor Chris Avell of Dad's Place faced nearly two dozen criminal charges for housing the homeless. The charges were eventually dropped after Dad's Place agreed to cease its residential operations temporarily while seeking the necessary building certification and zoning permits.

City officials often cite complaints from residents, zoning violations, and land use regulations as reasons why church outreach programs are shut down. But Jeremy Dys, Senior Counsel for First Liberty, recently told CBN News that some towns and cities "simply don't want that religious ministry occurring" in their communities. 

Dys adds that a federal law called "The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act" actually protects religious institutions and the work that they do.

"Rather than punishing these pastors, cities should be encouraging them and praising them for their good efforts," said Dys. 

CBN News has reached out to the City of Fairfield for reaction. We will include their comment here when they respond.

***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***