California Couple Fined for Hosting Bible Study at Home

Michael Ireland | ASSIST News Service | Updated: Nov 26, 2011

California Couple Fined for Hosting Bible Study at Home

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. (ANS) -- A Christian husband and wife from California have been fined by their city council for lacking a Conditional Use Permit while holding Bible studies and prayer meetings in their home, according to an article by Peter Baklinski, writing for LifeSiteNews.com.

“The fact that a governing body can effectively shut down an act of worship taking place in a private home does not sound like the heart of America,” said Chuck Fromm, who hosts the meetings.

What is at stake, Fromm says, is “the right to gather.”

In an online news article, Balinski says that since June 2010, the Fromms have opened their home on the northern outskirts of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., for a Sunday morning Bible study due to renovations at their normal place of meeting.

Balinski writes that since last January, the Fromms have also hosted a Thursday evening Bible study, which, like the Sunday meeting, is said to draw anywhere from six to 40 people.

The Fromms say the non-denominational meetings are well-suited to their home, located on a sizeable acreage similar to surrounding homes, and they say they have been careful to maintain low noise levels both inside the house and on the patio. They say visitors who attended the meetings never had trouble finding a place to park on the property, which is large enough to accommodate a corral, barn and pool.

Balinski reports that last April, the city of San Juan Capistrano issued a notice to the Fromms stating that they had violated the city’s municipal code for residential districts by holding meetings for an “organization” in a residential area.

Section 9-3.301 of the San Juan Capistrano code prohibits “religious, fraternal or nonprofit organizations” in residential neighborhoods without a Conditional Use Permit.

This prohibition applies to “churches, temples, synagogues, monasteries, religious retreats and other places of religious worship and other fraternal and community service organizations.” San Juan Capistrano has a reactive code enforcement policy, meaning that officers only respond to complaints.

The Fromms object that the meetings neither serve an organized church nor aim to become one, but are simply a gathering of believers of all stripes.

“Can you imagine anybody in any neighborhood, that one person can call and make it a living hell for someone else?” said Stephanie Fromm. “That’s wrong … and it’s just sad.”

Balinski goes on to say that since last May, the Fromms have paid the city $300 in fines for holding their religious gatherings, but have also appealed the citation.

Despite letters of support sent to the city from several of the Fromms' neighbors, who deny that the meetings are disturbing the peace, the city sided with the complainer last month, Balinski reported.

The city’s hearing officer reiterated to the Fromms that regular gatherings of more than three people require a CUP and warned them that future infractions would carry a heftier penalty of $500, up from the June fine amount of $200.

“We want to be able to use our home," Stephanie Fromm told the Capistrano Dispatch. "We’ve paid a lot and invested a lot in our home and backyard. … I should be able to be hospitable in my home."

Pacific Justice Institute president Brad Dacus, who is challenging the city on behalf of the Fromms, criticized the charges.

“Imposing a heavy-handed permit requirement on a home Bible study is outrageous,” said Dacus in a press release.

“An informal gathering in a home cannot be treated with suspicion by the government, or worse than any other gathering of friends, just because it is religious.”

Dacus told LifeSiteNews.com that, if the charge were not challenged, “it becomes a threat to all religious freedom across the country."

He said: “This city seems to be digging in their heels. We are confident that we will prevail one way or the other because of the Constitution."

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right of the people to peaceably assemble.

Balinski reports that after San Juan Capistrano’s hearing officer denied the Fromms’ appeal of the case to a higher court, it is scheduled to appear October 7 in Orange County Superior Court.

The LSN website says Dan Felix, Issuing Officer for San Juan Capistrano, did not return calls or e-mail by press time.

Michael Ireland is Senior Correspondent for ANS. He is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB UK, a British Christian radio station.

c. ASSIST News Service 2011. Used with permission.

Publication date: September 27, 2011

California Couple Fined for Hosting Bible Study at Home