State vs. Church in Orange County Land Dispute

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Cypress is an Orange County suburb, north of Long Beach between Anaheim and the 605 Freeway. It-s a quiet town, and the home of a mosque and 31 churches. The Cottonwood Christian Center's 4000 worshippers want to make it 32, and build at the intersection they own at Katella Avenue and Walker Street. But last week, by a vote of 4 to zero, the Cypress City Council voted to exercise its power of eminent domain-so the land can be used to build a new Costco that will generate city revenue from the sales tax. Both sides have invoked the Constitution and brought on their lawyers. We talk with a reporter for the LA Times, the General Counsel for the Becket Fund, the City Attorney for the City of Cypress, and Costco's Chief Legal Officer about the right to worship, the need for municipal planning, the embarrassment of national publicity, and the powers of Satan.
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Southern California ACLU

Becket Fund

Credits

Host:

Warren Olney

Producer:

Frances Anderton