The 42,000-square-foot Hayden Lake Seventh-day Adventist Church is in limbo as the county commissioners consider a conditional use permit that could spark a federal lawsuit. 

To date, the CUP has twice been recommended for denial by Kootenai County Hearing inspector Joan Woodward. However, after the first rejection, community development director David Callahan alerted the board that denying the permit could violate the Religious Land Use Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000. 

RLUIPA is a federal law that prohibits any government zoning regulations from substantially burdening the religious exercise of churches, assemblies, or institutions. The only exception is if the entity demonstrated a compelling governmental interest and resolved the issue in the least restrictive manner.

Since referenced by Callahan last October, RLUIPA has become a battle cry by the church's defense, arguing that unless there is sufficient reason for denying the permit, denying it would constitute a substantial burden on the church — an unjustified action.

Sitting on a 10-acre parcel on the corner of Lancaster and Rimrock Road's agricultural zone, the facility would include a 20,000-square-foot private school for home-schooled students and a 22,000-square-foot new place of worship.

The current Hayden Lake Seventh-day Adventist Church is just a few miles away on a 10-acre plot on Government Way, but the church has said the facility no longer meets the congregation's needs. 

"(The church) simply cannot offer all its programs and offerings to all the people it would like to," said Greg Embrey, an attorney with the church. "There's no space for agricultural activities. There's no space for school seating capacity. It's inadequate."

Since September, the church has argued that remodeling the current facility would cost more than building a new facility. Embrey noted on Thursday that adding a classroom — and the associated expansion of parking, sewer, and fire suppression — would cost an estimated $500,000.

"Being forced to stay there, the substantial burden is compounded. The inadequacies will remain, plus there will be an additional expense, and there's simply no way around that at the current site," Embrey said. 

Opponents doubted that statement.

Collette Perches, who said current construction quotes vary between $300 and $400 per square foot — put the new facility's cost somewhere in the range of $12.6 million and $16.8 million. Commissioner Leslie Duncan also mentioned that while a courthouse and church are different, the county is looking at courthouse costs of $350 per square foot. 

"So many things that were said here today just don't pan out," she said. "I think we have to look at the 42,000 square feet."

In the permit's fourth public hearing, neighbors of the project echoed the same arguments they've cited against the potential Hayden Lake Seventh-day Adventist Church since September — concerns of traffic, noise, light and water runoff pollution, to overall diminishing quality of life. 

"That 10-acre parcel needs to be a home with a family on it with three cars, not making a change of having a 42,000-square-foot building with 175 cars," said Wendy Cockrell, a neighbor in opposition. "Don't let them bully you. They already have a 10-acre parcel within two miles of this location. The true burden will fall on the residents who live out on Lancaster."

The board is set to make its decision on March 18 at 9 a.m., following an executive session that will be closed to the public.

"I can't understand why this is even considered when the community is saying this is not what we want," said Brian Moss, a neighbor of the project. "This is not serving the immediate community."