Ohio Pastor Criminally Charged for Zoning Violations After Housing the Homeless in His Church

A pastor was criminally charged earlier this month with zoning violations for sheltering the homeless in his church in Bryan, a city of 8,700 in northwest Ohio. Chris Avell has been keeping the doors of Dad’s Place open 24/7 for anyone to use the church’s kitchen, access the pantry, or participate in church services. The church is next door to a homeless shelter, and he takes in people when it’s full too, reports Chrisian Britschgi for Reason.

Though Avell considers his activities as part of his church’s mission, the city of Bryan says its a residential use of a commercially zoned property and therefore illegal. The city has charged Avell with 18 criminal charges related to violations of the zoning code, following a series of complaints that began in May 2023. According to a press release from the city, Avell knew the C-3 zoning laws applied to the property because he properly requested for a conditional use to operate the church. But he never requested or was approved to use the space as a residence or homeless shelter.

Avell pleaded not guilty to the charges, and his attorney, Jeremey Dys, argues “the city is using an unfairly narrow definition of what counts as church activity to persecute Avell and Dad's Place,” writes Britschgi.

Dys told Reason, “It's a rarity that a city and a mayor would press criminal charges against a church period. I'm not aware of a mayor anywhere in the country prosecuting a pastor for having his church open. That seems to be the very definition of religious discrimination."

The city denies that they discriminated against Avell and Dad’s Place, saying it enforces its zoning code equally against all and that a church does not have special rights under the zoning code.

The church has since sued the city, formally accusing the city and its officials of launching a harassment campaign against Dad's Place for keeping its doors open 24/7 for the homeless.