Counties would allow worship sites to host community activities

Counties would allow reasonable use of a place of worship for activities commonly tied to religious practice. This applies to a church, synagogue, temple, mosque, chapel, meeting house, or another nonresidential place of worship. The place of worship must be allowed on the property under state law, state rules, and local zoning rules. Allowed activities include worship, religious classes, weddings, funerals, meal programs, child care, and preschool or prekindergarten education. They exclude private or parochial schools from kindergarten through higher education.

Counties could prohibit or restrict a place of worship's use in either of two stated circumstances. These limits concern the places of worship and activities described in the bill's first section. A county could act if public facilities, including transportation, water, sewer, or storm drains, cannot adequately serve the place of worship. A county could also act if the physical features of the allowed use create a danger to occupants' or the public's health or safety.

A county could allow a private or parochial school to be sited under applicable state and local rules. The permission concerns a place of worship described in the bill's first section. This applies to kindergarten through grade 12 or higher education.