The Divine Grace Yoga Ashram is filing a lawsuit against Yavapai County for unequal religious treatment.
Currently, the Yavapai County Building Ordinance requires a conditional use permit with a public input opportunity for churches to operate in R1L zoning jurisdictions— residential, single-family limited — within the county.
An amendment to this code, section 410 of the R1L zoning ordinance, was delayed at two of the county’s meetings in January and February 2020, as county supervisors wanted the public input process to remain intact. Later that year, the county amended the language of the code to only allow publicly funded educational institutions to operate in R1L zoned properties without a CUP.
The Ashram has been located off Crozier Ranch Road in Cornville since 2020. Charles Bower, aka “Swami Sankarananda,” opened the Ashram in Cottonwood four years ago, before obtaining a 501(c)(3) nonprofit designation as a church and moving to the current property.
“We never wished to pursue a legal course, but we found ourselves being guided still to serve and support the community [after] being told by the county to cease and desist, so we began to talk with lawyers,” Bowers said. “Through grace donations, [we] came together to fund the effort, then we prepared and filed the case.”
The church practices Sanatana Dharma and Yoga philosophy with about 10 members. They were forced to close the doors to the public after being told by the Yavapai County Senior Planner Leah Brock that they would most likely not receive the required permit due to neighbors’ complaints against the church.
Divine Grace Yoga Ashram has not been open to the public since February 2021.
Bower, along with his lawyers, believes that the county cannot require a CUP process and public input to be compliant with the Free Exercise of Religion Act.
According to the church and county laws, the changes required by the Free Exercise of Religion Act to the Yavapai County Building Ordinance have not been made.
Specifically, the legal documents submitted by the church states that they should not have to go through the CUP process when other secular assemblies, such as public and charter schools, are not subject to CUP requirements to locate in R1L zoning districts.
When the amendment was discussed two years ago, Director of Yavapai County Planning Division David Williams warned supervisors that the delay in the amendment could result in additional litigation down the road by religious institutions.
After Williams’ warning, the county slightly amended the language later that year to hide the clear language that allows public and charter schools to operate on R1L zones and state:
“Educational institutions [privately funded] as defined in Section 301 [Definitions] [in site-built buildings], upon Conditional Use Permits approval.”
The Ashram’s case file stated in response to the change that “Section 410(C) was amended in an effort to make it harder for religious assemblies and institutions to make a [Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act] claim. The motivation for the change to Section 410(C) was hostility to religion.”
The main argument stands that the county’s law contradicts with the Arizona state law, Senate Bill 1062, that amended existing law to give any individual or legal entity an exemption from any state law if it substantially burdened their exercise of religion, including Arizona law requiring public accommodation.
“It’s been very challenging, we have done our best in the circumstances, and have taken this time to meditate, contemplate and put in place updated practices in every way where we would positively vibrate love throughout the community, doing our best in subtle ways to serve and to uplift,” Bower said.
Sedona Red Rock News reached out to Yavapai County Board of Supervisors to comment, but they did not reply.
