In Tarr v. Multnomah County, (OR App., Aug. 19, 2020), an Oregon state appellate court held that a state statute governing zoning for houses of worship prevents a county from applying a “compatibility standard” that appears in the county zoning code. In a suit by individuals living next door to property on which it is proposed to build a mosque, the court concluded that the county code’s requirement that a community service use be “consistent with the character of the area” cannot be invoked to prevent construction of the mosque. The court said in part:
the plain terms of ORS 215.441(1) and (2), in context, leave no room for the application of the county’s compatibility standard—or standards like it—to proposed religious land uses where, as here, a place of worship is allowed on a particular piece of real property under state law and county zoning laws.