NJ Town That Zoned Out Orthodox Jews Settles Discrimination Suit

A New Jersey township is paying $575,000 to settle charges that its zoning policies discriminated against Orthodox Jews who wanted to create religious schools and places of worship.

The deal, filed Monday in the Superior Court of New Jersey, allows the state to block new Jackson Township municipal rules it says harm the rights of religious groups in violation of the state’s Law Against Discrimination.

The charges strike at a perennial issue of how to accommodate religious schools and housing within a city’s zoning ordinance structure. The state alleges local rules banned the establishment of traditional Jewish schools known ...