LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The fight to get the city of Henderson its own Hindu temple continues.
This time, religious leaders of the temple accuse the city and its leaders of discrimination. FOX5 has reported about the temple since 2022, when residents in the rural area near Lisbon and Berlin where the temple would be built said they did not want it there.
The Hindu temple was called Anand Utsav Mandir. It would have been built on a five-acre plot in a neighborhood in rural Henderson.
“Henderson was important and the availability of the land was the question,” said Satish Bhatnagar, one of the founders of American Hindu Association.
Bhatnagar and co-founder of AHA Baba Anal bought the land for just over $400,000.
With a Hindu temple already in Summerlin, they wanted a place of worship for Hindus on the other side of town.
“The Hindu committee is close to 100,000,” Bhatnagar said.
Before plans for the temple moved forward, neighbors in that area voiced their unhappiness, and many showed up at a city planning meeting back in August of 2022. Bhatnagar said he was not prepared to see that many people opposed to the temple at the meeting.
The project was approved in that meeting, but in October of that year, residents appealed the city’s decision and claimed it would ruin the rural preservation area.
“This building does not qualify for the land they have chosen,” one resident said.
However, there are three churches in the same area.
The Henderson City Council was left in a difficult position, since there is a federal law that they had to keep in mind: the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, also known as RLUIPA.
“Local governments may not impose land use regulations that impose substantial burden on religious exercises,” said city attorney Nicholas Vaskov in that meeting.
The temple made many adjustments to fit the needs and concerns of residents, particularly regarding building height and parking spots.
“We basically minimized everything to the bare minimum that they would need to operate as a temple,” said the architect.
The City Council voted 4-1 to deny the residents’ appeal and granted the American Hindu Association a conditional use permit which would expire one year later.
Current Mayor Michelle Romero, then councilwoman for Ward 1, represented the area where the temple would be located. She was the only vote of no.
“It’s my opinion that any nonresidential zoning in the middle of this preservation area destroys the character of this neighborhood and misses the intent of the overlay,” Romero said during that 2022 meeting.
The temple leaders were able to get started on the many conditions they were expected to meet.
“I hired the civil engineer, the architect they are already hired, we already paid for them,” said Anal.
However, 11 months later, before their conditional use permit was set to expire, the city updated its rural code ordinance. This meant airports, correctional facilities and religious facilities would not be allowed in that area.
Mayor Michelle Romero sent FOX5 a recent statement saying in part, “While the Hindu temple use is no longer allowed in that area, their Conditional Use Permit, which was approved, would have allowed them to build had they met the conditions before its expiration”
“They are totally telling a lie,” Anal said.
Paperwork FOX5 obtained regarding the conditional use permit showed up to 48 conditions that needed to be met by the temple.
“The engineers’ work is almost done,” Anal said. “Unnecessary obstacles were created to complete the paperwork.”
Anal said when AHA asked for an extension for the permit, the city of Henderson denied the extension.
FOX5 reached back out to the city, asking Mayor Romero the following:
- Why did she vote no on the Oct. 4, 2022 public hearing meeting hearing regarding the Conditional Use Permit?
- Why was there a change in the new ordinance of preserving rural areas and when did that idea start floating around and by whom?
- Why was an extension not approved?
After several days, the City of Henderson did not answer those particular questions, and instead gave us a statement that was sent in before:
“The September 2023 update to the rural code ordinance removed large, intensive uses to preserve the rural lifestyle of the residents in the area and was not targeted at any specific use. While the Hindu temple use is no longer allowed in that area, their Conditional Use Permit, which was approved, would have allowed them to build had they met the conditions before its expiration. Representatives from the Hindu temple are encouraged to continue collaboration with the City to discuss alternate locations that meet City code.”
AHA has now reached out to the Department of Justice.
“The ordinance that was brought is a violation of our civil and religious rights,” Anal said.
A letter they sent to the DOJ says the amendment to the development code “discriminates against religious institutions.” The letter also states that the new code violates “RLUIPA.”
“We aren’t challenging a person, we are challenging the ordinance,” Anal said.
It is a challenge that AHA said they are determined to win.
FOX5 made a request to sit down with Mayor Romero for an interview but it was denied.
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