Plaza legal battle revived By Heather May and Christopher Smart
The Salt Lake Tribune
Barely a week after Salt Lake City vacated the public easement on the Main Street Plaza, the deal is under legal attack.
The American Civil Liberties Union is expected to file a lawsuit today against Salt Lake City and Mayor Rocky Anderson in U.S. District Court, alleging the city violated the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech and the Constitution's establishment clause that requires the government and churches to remain separate.
The Salt Lake Tribune obtained a copy of the legal brief Wednesday.
"We're asking
to look at this as a whole, look at the manipulations that went on, look to see if there was a secular reason for vacating the easement," said Dani Eyer, executive director of the ACLU's Utah chapter. "We hope the city is forced to do what it should have done -- that is to regulate the competing uses with time, place and manner regulations."
The city vacated the easement July 28, nine months after the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the city could not retain an easement and allow The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to limit speech on the plaza. In exchange, the city got 4 acres of land and $5 million to build a west-side community center.
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