An Chabad group and the borough of Litchfield moved one step closer to a court battle over religious freedom on Thursday night after the historic district commission denied the organization’s application to turn a Victorian home into a Shul.

Thursday night’s action – a seven-page decision read out loud by acting commission Chairman Joseph Montebello — the commission said it was denying the existing application and would welcome a new application by Chabad only if it scaled back its plans to a total of 6,000 square feet.

The commission made it clear that it had worked hard to avoid any semblance of prejudice against Chabad-Lubavitch’s plan to build the town’s first Shul, and the decision cited two recent federal decisions on religious freedom in zoning decisions.

“Several people worked very hard all day drafting this decision so that we would look completely fair,” Montebello said during a recess in the hearing.

(Source: Courant)