Faith-Based Housing (H 7445, S 2268)

This bill would allow, as the explanation notes, “faith-based organizations to develop affordable and mixed-use housing on land they own as a by-right use, set statewide development standards, limit local barriers, and streamline approvals to expand housing supply.”

At present, the ACLU of Rhode Island has no position on the bill, as we are still trying to evaluate its impact and, more particularly, its constitutional validity under the First Amendment. That in turn depends on what special benefits this legislation is bestowing on these faith-based organizations, whether those benefits are related to the organization’s mission, and their impact on the secular use of the property at issue. Answers to those questions remain unclear to us.