(PRESS RELEASE) BRYAN, Ohio, July 24, 2024 – U.S. District Court Judge Jack Zouhary, in a clear and sharply worded ruling, said that the City of Bryan is properly pursuing enforcement of its fire and zoning codes in the name of safety, denying Dad’s Place church’s request to stop the city.
“Judge Zouhary’s ruling highlights that the claims by Dad’s Place and its attorneys of harassment and religious discrimination are nonsense,” said Bryan Mayor Carrie Schlade.
“No one is being harassed or discriminated against. We simply want Dad’s Place to follow the law and protect the people who gather there.”
Dad’s Place church, at 226 S. Main Street, has been cited by the city for violating city and Ohio Fire Codes, including not having an automatic sprinkler system installed in an area where groups of people are regularly spending the night and sleeping, as required under Ohio law.
“The city indisputably has a compelling interest in enforcing its fire code: public safety,” Judge Zouhary said in his ruling.
Judge Zouhary also noted that Bryan Fire Chief Douglas Pool conducted several fire inspections in the spring and discovered numerous fire code violations.
That included a thorough inspection on April 24, 2024, when Chief Pool found 15 individuals sleeping in the main room of the church.
Dad’s Place has claimed it “wants to be a place of safety for those in desperate need.” Yet, instead of simply complying with the law and zoning codes, Dad’s Place Pastor Chris Avell, who is renting the building from Riehle Rentals, has falsely attacked the city, putting in danger the very people he claims to serve.
Avell and his attorneys now have chosen to appeal the U.S. District Court ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Judge Zouhary made the stakes clear: “This Court is confronted with a significant risk: the potential for a fire in an overcrowded building with flammable materials, inadequate fire suppression systems, no monitoring, and no organized evacuation plan. This potential harm does not align with the public interest.”
The ruling also made clear that the claims of the city consistently harassing Dad’s Place are baseless. “Throughout the pendency of this case, the parties have collaborated to find workable resolutions,” Judge Zouhary noted.
Finally, the judge agreed with the city’s consistent position: Dad’s Place is welcome in Bryan – if it complies with the laws and codes that keep people safe.
“Dad’s Place cannot demonstrate that an injunction is necessary to prevent irreparable harm,” Judge Zouhary wrote.
“It has been operating as a church since its inception and now seeks to also function as an ‘inn,’ based on its sincerely held religious beliefs.
The city’s enforcement of its ordinances requires Dad’s Place to adhere to specific safety protocols for residential use.”
“This does not mean Dad’s Place cannot operate as a residence on its current property or cannot practice its religion. It simply means that it should find a compliant way to pursue its new objective.”
Mayor Schlade said that while the U.S. District Court ruling was welcome news, the city must continue its efforts to hold Dad’s Place to the same laws that apply to everyone in Bryan.
“We appreciate Judge Zouhary’s ruling and recognition of what the city is doing,” said Mayor Schlade, noting that the city’s actions with Dad’s Place have led to her own children being harassed and threatened on social media, along with harassing and threatening voicemails and emails being sent to city offices, including the Bryan Police and Fire Dispatch.
“The answers here are simple – but so important. Keep people safe. Follow our laws. We will never back away from those principles.”