ACLU, city settle lawsuit over parking in Leon

Chicago Tribune DES MOINES, IA - A lawsuit over a church-only parking ordinance on a street in the southern Iowa town of Leon has been settled with the city’s decision to ban all parking on the street. The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa in February, challenged the city’s decision to allow only church-goers to park on the street. Homeowners Donald Jones and David Darling complained that the city violated the constitutional separation of church and state and religious discrimination laws when it passed the ordinance. “The rules ought to be the same for everybody,” Jones said in a statement released Monday. Jones said the church across the street has a large parking lot and that his own parking options are limited. Darling was told by a police officer to park further from the intersection to give buses more room to turn. Darling complied but was told later by another officer that he would have to move his car every 24 hours or have it towed. He was subsequently told that if he continued to park on the street the city would pass an ordinance making the area church parking only. The city passed the ordinance in January 2007. City officials claimed the ban was to avoid street congestion and wasn’t church-related. In a statement Monday, the ACLU said Jones and Darling are pleased but would have preferred a compromise. “We would have preferred that the city allow parking on weekends and evenings,” said Randall Wilson, the ACLU of Iowa legal director. “But our clients are pleased to no longer be singled out as the only residents not able to park on the street in front of their own home due to religious distinctions.” Angie Blades, the Leon city clerk, said the City Council considered several options. “They just felt that to allow parking all the time wouldn’t be sufficient so they just made it no parking all the time to avoid any accidents or problems,” Blades said.