Here is an interesting excerpt, about a church that allows the homeless to sleep in its parking lot. Often, when a church opens up a soup kitchen or allows the homeless to crash on its property, neighbors will complain and argue this violates zoning laws. We will soon be studying these kinds of issues when you get to Handout 7 and the Religious Land Use and Instituionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). Here is the excerpt:
In my local area (Dallas, TX), a local church has decided to open up its parking lot to homeless people as a place for them to sleep at night (see here for story). Their move has generated complaints from nearby business owners who have said that the presence of homeless people have driven away customers. This
conflict raises yet another tension within our private property system - the privilege to use one's property versus the recognition that we can't use our property in ways harmful to our neighbors (again, another theme from the Singer
casebook). Until adequate shelter and other services are provided to homeless people, the inherent tensions within our property system will continue to manifest in various ways.
