Opinion ID: 1864416
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The entanglement test.

Text: Excessive entanglement arises when the state's involvement with a religious institution creates a need for comprehensive, discriminating, and continuous state surveillance; it applies only in those cases where the government must be sure that its aid is used only for secular purposes. See Lemon, 403 U.S. at 619, 91 S.Ct. at 2114; Roemer v. Board of Public Works, 426 U.S. 736, 96 S.Ct. 2337, 49 L.Ed.2d 179 (1976); Tilton v. Richardson, 403 U.S. 672, 91 S.Ct. 2091, 29 L.Ed.2d 790 (1971). Demos points to documents wherein the Developer and the YMCA agree to cooperate in the development of the LaSalle Place Project. This is an understanding the YMCA has with the Developer, not the Development Agency. In any event, in planning and building the project, one would expect the YMCA in constructing its new quarters as the anchor tenant to coordinate its efforts with the Developer. This does not create any entanglement with religion. To the extent it can be said the Development Agency is involved, its involvement is indirect and is analogous to the one-time construction grant in Tilton which was held not to be an entanglement. 403 U.S. at 688, 91 S.Ct. at 2100. We do not have here any ongoing grants nor any need for ongoing governmental supervision of the YMCA's activities. This, too, was the conclusion of the trial court. Demos also contends there should be restrictions on the sectarian use of the YMCA property. Its argument stems from a misreading of Tilton. In that case federal legislation provided grants to colleges for construction of academic facilities which, however, could not be used for religious purposes for 20 years. This meant, said the United States Supreme Court, that the federal act expressly allowed the college to use the facility for any purpose at the end of 20 years, and this would include a religious use. The Court held this statutory provision facially invalid as violating the establishment clause. 403 U.S. at 683, 91 S.Ct. at 2098. Obviously, a statute affirmatively permitting religious use of a federally funded building is unconstitutional. There is no similar provision in any of the contracts for the LaSalle Place Project, either with the YMCA or, for that matter, with any tenant. Neither do we see in this case need for restrictions forbidding a religious use not contemplated and which would be inconsistent with the contractual intent of the private parties. See Roemer, 426 U.S. at 760, 96 S.Ct. at 2351 (courts will presume parties will observe constitutional prohibitions). Here we have a private developer contracting with an organization not pervasively religious to provide, as an anchor tenant in a commercial redevelopment project, a nonsectarian, nonsubsidized health, day care, and recreational facility for the general public. To the extent the Development Agency has assisted to make the YMCA property available to the project, this is, as already observed, a one-time assistance only, which does not present any entanglement requiring use restrictions. The Development Agency's condemnation proceeding neither advances religion nor fosters excessive government entanglement with religion and, therefore, does not violate the establishment clause. Affirmed.