With Holidays Approaching, City Still Penalizing Church For Homeless Ministry

Fairfield, Calif. - The City of Fairfield made clear this week that it still expects a small church to pay thousands of dollars in bureaucratic fines and penalties before it can resume its longtime ministries such as job training and free medical care.

For about 15 years, City Church Fairfield fed and sheltered the hungry, provided job training and addiction recovery programs. The church's approach has been to not merely give handouts but a hand up, steering the downtrodden toward life transformation. According to firsthand testimonials presented this week before the City Council, many have permanently exited homelessness through the church's work. In more recent years, the church had also launched free medical care onsite, with a volunteer physician and nurses. The church is represented by attorneys with Pacific Justice Institute free of charge.

For years, city officials encouraged the church's work and steered the needy toward them. The city's posture changed dramatically in 2022 after the church's pastor, Scott Mulvey, agreed to requests by local residents to run for city council. The city then began sending numerous police and code enforcement officers to the property, and they began to cite and fine the church for numerous alleged violations. Over the next two years, the church scraped together about $150,000 to make major repairs such as replacing the roof. But nothing the church did was good enough or fast enough for the city. At one point, city officials came to the church the day before Good Friday and three days before Easter, demanding the church make major repairs by early the following week.

Earlier this year, the city shut down the free medical clinic and ordered everyone staying on the property to leave. Since that time, the church is aware of at least 4 of its residents who have died after being sent back to the streets. That number is likely to increase with the onset of winter.

The city is now requiring the church to complete an extensive Conditional Use Permit process to resume its free medical care and training program. The church has continued to feed the hungry, but other offerings such as safe overnight parking do not have any timetable for being allowed to return, even with winter and the holidays quickly approaching.

When the church could not pay an initial fine of more than $17,000 the city added penalties which have now ballooned to more than $310,000. PJI contends the fine and penalties are unjust and far outweighed by the benefits the church has provided to the less fortunate for many years.

As PJI reported last month, the Fairfield Planning Commission voted 7-0 to separate any fines or penalties from conditions of approval for church ministries to resume. But the following week, the Mayor and City Council voted to appeal that decision to themselves.

At a standing-room-only City Council meting this past Tuesday, Nov. 19, numerous individuals testified to the church's life-saving work. Some testified that they have now been clean and sober for years after going through church programs. Other community leaders attested to the crucial gap the church was filling by providing food, shelter, and healthcare free of charge. Pacific Justice Institute represents the church at no charge, and a PJI attorney pointed out to the Council the legal problems with the city's approach.

Although Council members could not deny the church's positive impact on the community, and indicated their belief that the ballooning fines had become excessive, they were unwilling to waive the fines or remove them as a condition of approval. The Council therefore voted 5-1 to reverse the portion of the Commission's unanimous decision that had been more favorable to the church. The Council directed city staff to negotiate with the church over the amount of the fines and penalties.

PJI Founder and President Brad Dacus commented, "For more than 25 years, PJI has been representing churches and ministries like City Church Fairfield. This is one of the most egregious examples we've seen of a city putting political retribution over people's lives. Despite the city's approach to this point, we remain hopeful an agreement can be reached that will allow ministries to resume before more vulnerable people die. As we enter the holiday season, we must do everything in our power to ensure that the less fortunate are not forgotten."