‘Only government officials could say people are safer in sub-zero temperatures than inside the warmth of a church,’ lawyer says
Ohio Attorney General David Yost has filed a brief in support of a pastor who was recently found guilty of a building code violation related to his church sheltering the homeless.
Pastor Chris Avell of Dad’s Place Church in Bryan was recently found guilty of a fire code violation that was leveled by city officials.
In an amicus brief filed earlier this week in the Court of Appeals of Ohio, Sixth Appellate District, Williams County, Yost argued that the city was violating the church’s rights.
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“This case is about religious liberty,” read the brief. “Applying Ohio’s proper test — strict scrutiny — the Church should prevail, and the preliminary injunction against the Church should be reversed.”
“That is because the City has not shown a likelihood of success that its claimed interests are compelling, nor has it shown that it has chosen the least restrictive means of pursuing its interests. As shown below, the City cannot meet the higher burden that Ohio’s Constitution requires.”
The First Liberty Institute, which is helping to represent Avell, noted that this marks the third brief that Yost has filed on behalf of the church since its legal battle with the city began in 2023.
“We thank Attorney General Yost for his defense of Dad’s Place and his unflinching leadership in defense of religious liberty for all Ohioans,” said FLI Senior Counsel Jeremy Dys in a statement released Wednesday.
“As he says in his brief, it is past time for the city to relent in its harassment of Dad’s Place and for the court to uphold the Ohio Constitution.”
In March of 2023, Avell decided to keep his church open all day and night for the benefit of the local homeless population. Soon after, however, city officials charged Avell with 18 zoning law violations, including allegedly lacking proper kitchen and laundry facilities, unsafe building exits and improper ventilation.
Avell and his legal representatives met with Bryan officials in January of last year. After the meeting, it was announced that the two parties agreed that the city would drop the charges against Avell in return for halting residential operations while he acquires requisite building certifications and zoning permits, as well as installing the various safety measures.
However, last April, Dad’s Place and the building owner, Riehle Rentals, faced new citations related to its sheltering of the homeless, as officials alleged that two violations of the city’s fire code were found during an inspection that month.
Charges centered on the fact that the church didn’t have an automated sprinkler system in its main room where 15 people were sleeping at the time of the fire chief’s inspection.
“We did not want to do this. We must do this for the safety of the people using the church, renters in space above the church and the businesses adjacent to the building,” Bryan Mayor Carrie Schlade said in a statement, according to WTOL 11. “This is not some bureaucratic dispute between Dad’s Place and the city. This is a very dangerous situation for the people that Dad’s Place has invited in to stay overnight.”
Earlier this month, a Bryan Municipal Court judge found Avell guilty of the violation and fined the pastor $200 and gave him a 60-day suspended jail sentence. The decision was stayed 30 days to allow for an appeal.
FLI Counsel Ryan Gardner denounced the decision in a statement, believing that no American pastor “should be pronounced guilty for providing temporary shelter to those in desperate need.”
“Only government officials could say with a straight face that people are safer in the sub-zero temperatures on the street than inside the warmth of a church,” he added.
