As we explained in our case summary, the question in this case was whether a town zoning ordinance violated the First Amendment by barring a “religious observance” by defendant that took the form of “an annual, multi-day, music festival attended by several hundred people.” The Court (DiFiore, CJ.) held that the zoning ordinance did not violate the First Amendment.
The Court first held that the zoning ordinance clearly prohibited the defendant from using his land to hold a music festival. Defendant’s land was located in a rural district. Under the ordinance, land use in a rural district was limited to any principal permitted use (e.g., agriculture) or any specifically permitted accessory use. A three-day outdoor music and camping festival, however, did not come within the scope of any of the principal or accessory uses enumerated in the ordinance for a rural district.
The Court then rejected defendant’s First Amendment argument. Applying intermediate scrutiny to this “time, place and manner” restriction, the Court held that the ordinance served a significant government interest–i.e., “to preserve a balance of agricultural and low-impact non-agricultural land uses.” The ordinance was narrowly tailored to further that interest because it allowed “a limited and balanced suite” of uses and its prohibition of other “more obtrusive uses” was not “substantially broader than necessary” to further the Town’s interest. And the ordinance left open ample opportunities for other expression because it would have allowed defendant’s expression in other districts, it allowed expression consistent with permitted uses, and it permitted landowners to seek a variance.
The Court also rejected a void-for-vagueness challenge to the ordinance. The plain text of the ordinance, the Court held, was sufficient to alert “a person of ordinary intelligence” that a three-day outdoor music and camping festival was not a permitted use and would require either a variance or a special use permit.
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