A new wrinkle has been added to this controversy.

During the Clinton Administration, Congress passed a bill know as RUILPA (Religious Use Institutional Land Permit Act). According to this law, local jurisdictions must set aside land for religious institutional use, and can not use zoning laws to exclude them entirely. Orthodox Jewish Yeshivas and Rabbinical Seminaries in Ramapo are taking advantage of this by building housing for married students, teachers, and their families on the grounds of these schools which are located in residential areas. The housing on these tracts of land will by necessity be high density & low income units. Supervisor St. Lawrence and the Town Board has set aside 3 tracts of land where these institutions will be located. It was the opinion of the Town Attorney, Michael Klein, that the Town must take this action in order to comply with Federal Law. Failure to do so can open up the possibility of lawsuits, not only against the Town, but against the Board Members and Supervisor personally, as has been done in other parts of the country. The opposition has accused the Town Board of running scared and has urged them to take the Feds to court and challenge the constitutionality of RUILPA. They have filed their own lawsuit against the Town to try to force them to challenge the law rather than comply with it. All in all, it is a big mess with tempers flaring everywhere. SOL ZELLER