This is going to be a highly controversial thread. What do we do when freedm of religious practice clashes with local zoning regulations ? As an example, I am going to use my local residential area which is the Town Of Ramapo located in Rockland County,N.Y. Most of the earlier residents moved up here from New York City to escape from the hustle & bustle of crowded city life, and have houses built on land parcels of one acre or larger. They have enacted strict zoning ordinances against high density housing and multi-family dwellings, in order to protect this high quality of life that they hold so dear. Some have even gone so far as to form separate independent villages within the town, such as Wesley Hills, New Hempstead, Airmont,and Montebello, in order to have even more control over their zoning future. The other side of the coin is that in the last 25 years, there has been a tremendous influx of Orthodox Jews,and Hassidic Jews in particular that have come up here from Brooklyn. The first problem occurred when the Orthodox Jews started to build neighborhood synagogues. As you know, our religion prohibits us from riding on the Sabbath and Jewish holidays. Therefore, we require synagogues that are within easy walking distance of our houses. The town and local villages would not let us locate houses of worship within the local residential area. Residents went to court with the village of Airmont over this issue, and the case went to the Supreme Court. The Jews won the case and the village of Airmont had to pay out over one million dollars in legal fees. Now another issue has arisen. Many of the Hassidic families have as many as 10 or 15 children. When the children grow up and marry, they all want to live in the same community within proximity of their parents. There are now several lawsuits pending against the Town of Ramapo and the various villages,which say that the zoning laws which forbid high density and multi-family housing are discriminatory against Orthodox Jews. I would like to get the input of some of my fellow Mudcatters on this issue which is now a very hot potato in local politics. SOL ZELLER