Remote Surveillance Trailer in Santa Ana, CA

The U.S. Department of Justice has contacted a federal district court in support of a Christian church suing Santa Ana with allegations the city violated religious land use rights when a zoning application to use space in the city’s professional district as a house of worship was denied.

In 2022, the Chinese-American church Anchor Stone purchased the Santa Ana property near the 55 Freeway and Dyer Road intending to use it as its worship space. Because the property is located in a district zoned for professional uses — typically businesses and administration offices where no merchandise is sold, such as a bank or medical offices — the church was required to obtain a conditional use permit, which the Planning Commission denied.

In 2023, the Santa Ana City Council unanimously denied the church’s appeal.

Anchor Stone argues in its lawsuit that the city’s denial infringes upon its rights under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, or RLUIPA, a federal law that protects individuals and religious institutions from “unduly burdensome, unequal or discriminatory” land use regulations.

“It frustrates me because this city, we all know this, we keep seeing RLUIPA thrown at us as an excuse to circumvent our local laws,” Councilmember Phil Bacerra said at the Nov. 21 City Council meeting. “Why I find it offensive is because it asserts that we are somehow opposed to religious freedom.”

The Justice Department’s statement of interest filed with the court on Friday, March 14, in support of Anchor Stone says the city’s zoning code violates RLUIPA because it treats religious assembly uses less favorably than nonreligious assembly uses.

“Nothing in the zoning code, the city’s recently revised general plan, or the city’s denial of the church’s (conditional use permit) justifies this unequal treatment,” the Justice Department said.

Zoning practices that limit the congregation of faith-based groups violate federal law, Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally for the Central District of California said in a statement.

“Municipalities cannot create zoning districts that treat houses of worship worse than comparable secular assemblies,” he said. “The Justice Department will vigorously protect the right of religious institutions to receive equal treatment under the law.”

Jeremy Dys, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, which is representing Anchor Stone, said he is grateful for the Justice Department’s commitment to defending religious freedom.

“The DOJ’s credible voice adds strength to the position that the city of Santa Ana has failed to treat Anchor Stone fairly in violation of both federal law and the U.S. Constitution,” Dys said.

Santa Ana spokesperson Paul Eakins said the city is aware of and reviewing the Department of Justice’s court filing, but declined to comment further on the litigation.

The U.S. Department of Justice has made similar filings in several RLUIPA cases, its attorneys said in their court brief.

That includes in 2023 when the nonprofit Micah’s Way sued Santa Ana arguing that the distribution of food and beverages to homeless people is part of its religious exercise after the city refused to certify the organization’s occupancy certificate and threatened to impose fines and seek legal action should any food distribution continue at its property.

Mater Dei MonarchsVarsity Football Santa Ana, CA23.6kFollowers

23-24

Overall

13-1

League

4-1 (2nd)

NAT Rank

3

CA Rank

1

2023-24 V. Football

Print

Overall13-10.929 Win Pct

League4-12nd Trinity

Home7-0Away4-1Neutral2-0

PF544PA124Streak6W

Open Division2023 CIF State Football Championship Bowl Games

* League** Playoffs*** Tournament

PrintSchedule Correction

More Videos

As temperatures surge, Santa Ana winds will kick up over Southern California, which will raise new concerns for wildfires.

Debris and runoff from recent storms and the Palisades Fire are strewn across Santa Monica Beach, and officials are warning beachgoers of the potential hazards posed.

Soon after warmth builds over the interior southwestern United States, offshore winds will kick up and help bring the heat to coastal areas of Southern California, AccuWeather meteorologists say. The Santa Ana winds and warmth will drive up the wildfire risk.

"Temperatures will peak at 10-15 degrees Fahrenheit above the historical average across the interior Southwest in cities such as Phoenix, Las Vegas and Palm Springs, California," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Courtney Travis said.

Phoenix challenged its record high set the same year on Wednesday afternoon of 91, set in 1986. It fell just short with a high of 89 but was well above its historical average high temperatures. On Thursday, another daily record high of 92, set in the same year, will be challenged.

The late-winter warmth with no threat of lightning and downpours will likely spark interest in outdoor activities in the deserts. People are encouraged to take the heat seriously and to pack plenty of water for hiking and other ventures.

"As high pressure builds over the interior West by midweek, it will create stiff breezes that are forced over the mountains and through the canyons in Southern California," Travis said.

This wind event, also known as a Santa Ana, will push the warmth into coastal areas of Southern California.

GET THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP•Have the app? Unlock AccuWeather Alerts™ with Premium+

At the same time, the winds, moisture-starved air and drying landscape after rains earlier in the month will cause the wildfire threat to increase.

Fortunately, winds are not expected to be extreme with this Santa Ana event. Travis said most gusts will range between 20 and 40 mph, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ gust of 60 mph.

Experts recommend taking care and using common sense. Even this low-end Santa Ana can still lead to quickly spreading wildfires from open flames, sparks or outdoor power equipment. Be vigilant and promptly report smoke to local fire companies and authorities.

"The winds will help boost temperatures in coastal areas of Southern California. Downtown Los Angeles can challenge the record on Thursday," Travis said, "Thursday's record of 86 was set in 2020."

Record highs generally in the mid-80s F will be challenged over much of the Los Angeles area on Thursday, including Riverside, Long Beach, Santa Ana and Burbank, California.

Winds are forecast to ease up late in the week, and temperatures should return to near the historical average. Around the same time, a weak storm will pivot southeastward across the region.

Since this storm may struggle to grab much moisture from the Pacific Ocean, rainfall will be highly sporadic. Nonetheless, there could be spotty shower activity over Southern California from Friday to Friday night.

Soon after that storm pivots inland, another storm system will drop in over the weekend.

Since the atmosphere will be a bit more moist in the wake of the Friday storm, there will be a better chance for a few showers later in the weekend in Southern California. The risk of showers will increase on Sunday with some rain likely in the Hollywood, California, vicinity, during the evening hours when the Academy Awards will take place.

ant next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts™ are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.

Report a Typo

AA new-school diner by the name of Le Hut Dinette opens on February 22, 2025 in Santa Ana in a remodeled Quonset hut (a corrugated steel structure shaped like half a barrel) from Heritage barbecue owners Daniel and Brenda Castillo. The high-ceiling restaurant features a menu by veteran chef Ryan Garlitos, previously at Michelin-starred (and now-closed) Taco María and modern Filipino restaurant Irenia, who will serve a friendly West Texas diner-inflected menu of pork chile verde tacos, chili cheese fries, brisket barbacoa tacos (with the smoked beef sourced from the Castillos’ San Juan Capistrano barbecue restaurant), and chocolate bibingka. Le Hut Dinette will open next to Santa Ana’s very popular and recently relocated 61 Hundred Bread, a modern sourdough bakery that’s drawn long lines for its inventive loaves and thoughtful pastries.

Le Hut Dinette joins a growing empire for Daniel and Brenda Castillo, who opened the celebrated Michelin Bib Gourmand-awarded Heritage Barbecue in San Juan Capistrano in July 2021. The barbecue spot was featured in an Eater video and cultivated a dedicated following of diners who would often wait for an hour or more for smoked meats. The husband-and-wife team also opened Heritage Beer in Oceanside in 2023, bringing craft beer and barbecue to the north San Diego county city. Originally, the plan for this Santa Ana space was to open a brisket taco spot called Le Brisket Hut, as announced in February 2024, but since then the menu has morphed into a modern diner concept.

Last week, the Castillos and Garlito hosted a Valentine’s Day-themed tasting menu with roast duck adobo over creamy garlic rice, chicken French onion soup, smoked salmon terrine with 61 Hundred’s blue corn sourdough bread, and pork steak with ginger-scallion salsa verde. The flavors were balanced and comforting without being too aggressive, emulating other modern diners like Little Goat and Dove’s Luncheonette in Chicago or perhaps even the long-gone Nickel Diner in Downtown LA.

Once it opens tomorrow, Le Hut Dinette will start with daytime service, with dinner to commence a few weeks later. The relaxing retro-inspired interior features a hi-fi audio system, counter seats, wide later banquettes, and a front outdoor patio seating up to 24 people. Castillo tells Eater that he will eventually convert the current space into the restaurant’s bar and design the rest of the Quonset hut’s interior as an indoor dining room. That dream will have to wait for this first phase, where Santa Ana locals can take in fresh takes on American comfort fare with Filipino flavors.

Le Hut Dinette will be open on February 22 with hours from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with dinner service coming later. It’s located at 730 N. Poinsettia Street, Santa Ana, CA, 92701.

The U.S. Department of Justice has contacted a federal district court in support of a Christian church suing Santa Ana with allegations the city violated religious land use rights when a zoning application to use space in the city’s professional district as a house of worship was denied.

In 2022, the Chinese-American church Anchor Stone purchased the Santa Ana property near the 55 Freeway and Dyer Road intending to use it as its worship space. Because the property is located in a district zoned for professional uses — typically businesses and administration offices where no merchandise is sold, such as a bank or medical offices — the church was required to obtain a conditional use permit, which the Planning Commission denied.

In 2023, the Santa Ana City Council unanimously denied the church’s appeal.

Anchor Stone argues in its lawsuit that the city’s denial infringes upon its rights under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, or RLUIPA, a federal law that protects individuals and religious institutions from “unduly burdensome, unequal or discriminatory” land use regulations.

“It frustrates me because this city, we all know this, we keep seeing RLUIPA thrown at us as an excuse to circumvent our local laws,” Councilmember Phil Bacerra said at the Nov. 21 City Council meeting. “Why I find it offensive is because it asserts that we are somehow opposed to religious freedom.”

The Justice Department’s statement of interest filed with the court on Friday, March 14, in support of Anchor Stone says the city’s zoning code violates RLUIPA because it treats religious assembly uses less favorably than nonreligious assembly uses.

“Nothing in the zoning code, the city’s recently revised general plan, or the city’s denial of the church’s (conditional use permit) justifies this unequal treatment,” the Justice Department said.

Zoning practices that limit the congregation of faith-based groups violate federal law, Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally for the Central District of California said in a statement.

“Municipalities cannot create zoning districts that treat houses of worship worse than comparable secular assemblies,” he said. “The Justice Department will vigorously protect the right of religious institutions to receive equal treatment under the law.”

Jeremy Dys, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, which is representing Anchor Stone, said he is grateful for the Justice Department’s commitment to defending religious freedom.

“The DOJ’s credible voice adds strength to the position that the city of Santa Ana has failed to treat Anchor Stone fairly in violation of both federal law and the U.S. Constitution,” Dys said.

Santa Ana spokesperson Paul Eakins said the city is aware of and reviewing the Department of Justice’s court filing, but declined to comment further on the litigation.

The U.S. Department of Justice has made similar filings in several RLUIPA cases, its attorneys said in their court brief.

That includes in 2023 when the nonprofit Micah’s Way sued Santa Ana arguing that the distribution of food and beverages to homeless people is part of its religious exercise after the city refused to certify the organization’s occupancy certificate and threatened to impose fines and seek legal action should any food distribution continue at its property.