No Rush For RMCC Expansion In Niwot   APRIL 2011
BY LIZ EMMETT-MATTOX
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  With the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear Boulder County’s last-chance appeal, Rocky Mountain Christian Church is now free to pursue the expansion they first proposed back in 2004.

  When Boulder County denied most of the church’s requests in 2006, a protracted legal battle began. RMCC sued Boulder County, claiming that the commissioners had violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).

  In 2008, a jury concluded that the county had violated parts of RLUIPA, but did not discriminate on the basis of religion. On the basis of this verdict, a judge ruled in 2009 that the county must allow the expansion.

  After a further appeal to the 10th Circuit Court upheld the district court’s verdict, Boulder County’s last chance was the Supreme Court, which rejected the appeal.
 
  Now that the legal hurdles have been cleared, RMCC is in no hurry to move forward with the expansion. Said Pastor Alan Ahlgrim, “This was the answer we had hoped and prayed for and now we’re at the beginning of a very complex process.”
 
  Part of this complex process is assessing how the church’s needs and resources have changed since 2004. Though plans in Niwot may have been stymied by Boulder County, the church has continued to expand, and now has a second campus in Frederick.   

  Having congregations in two locations has meant that the church is “looking at things through a much broader lens,” according to Ahlgrim.
 
  Whatever happens with the Niwot campus won’t be happening any time soon. Ahlgrim said, “We don’t have any sense of rush to make a decision. We are just beginning to have the conversations right now, so there are no immediate plans.”