Agenda Packets - 2021/09/07 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Nyle Zikmund Mark Beer July 22, 2021 Page 3 Exercise lawsuit. Which leads back to the recommendation that the City take (at least) the 4 steps enumerated above if it chooses to offer space in the MVCC to a religious group. Considerations Specific to Use of the Sign The lease with Rise, a current lessee, includes the following language: "Tenant shall not place or maintain any sign, advertisement or notice on any part of the outside of the Premises or the building except (i) such place, number, size, color and style as has been approved in writing by Landlord and (ii) in accordance with the sign criteria to be developed by Landlord. Any such signs shall be at the sole expense of Tenant. Tenant shall remove all signs at the expiration or termination of this Lease and restore the affected area to its original condition." If the "sign criteria" have been/are developed in a manner that technically allows Pursuit Church to have a sign then the city should be careful if it chooses to prohibit Pursuit Church from having a sign or limit what can be depicted on the sign. However, similar to the issues regarding the lease of the MVCC, allowing Pursuit Church to have a sign could result in a reasonable observer to conclude that the religious group is in any way affiliated with or supported by the City. If that is the case, then the City may be able to take a conservative approach to avoid the danger of the appearance of an Establishment Clause violation. Conclusion Cities have the ability to adopt policies limiting leasing of publicly owned space to religious organizations. We are unaware of any such policy being adopted by the City. Since no such policy exists, the City must treat a religious organization and nonreligious organizations in a similar manner. Only offering to lease space in MVCC to Pursuit Church may be an issue if the City is not offering the same opportunity to other current renters. If the City does lease to Pursuit Church, it must also ensure that rent for the space is market value or at least equivalent to other tenants. All of that being said, the City may be able to decide not to enter into a lease and/or allow Pursuit Church to have a sign on the City's sign structure if doing so would lead a reasonable observer to infer that the Pursuit Church is supported by or affiliated with the City. DOC SOPEN\MU210\3 5\736320.v3-7/22/21