Paul Savad was correct in stating that the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act is effective in preventing municipalities from impairing and prohibiting the free exercise of religion. ("RLUIPA: Any review must weigh all sides," Thursday Community View.) What he chooses not to mention is that an unintended byproduct of the law allows developers to wield the RLUIPA sword as a weapon for economic gain. To call Rocklanders from Ramapo and more specifically Pomona anti-Semitic is ludicrous. This fight is not about religion but about economics. Should any group be allowed to destroy a community and then justify it by pointing out that the U.S. government allows it, no, sanctions it? Religious freedom does not grant the bearer the right to circumvent all existing laws and codes in a community. When that day comes, rest assured that Donald Trump will link up with the "8th Day Evangelical Anarchists" (or some trumped-up organization) to build a "tax free" high-rise condo complex that one unit left aside for "religious" studies which will take a lifetime to prepare its members for entry into the hereafter.

Tony Alfero
Sloatsburg

It should surprise no one that Paul Savad, the lawyer paid to represent the Rabbinical College of Tartikov, finds fault with those fighting to stop the exploitation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act in his Thursday Community View, "RLUIPA: Any review must weigh all sides."

The Constitution and RLUIPA were not intended to serve ever-expanding populations of religious sects who want to avoid their responsibility of paying taxes by claiming there is a religious purpose to every aspect of their lives - especially when disproportionate members of those groups live as perennial religious students. You are free to practice your religion in America, but please don't make it a burden for the rest of us.

Frank Occhiogrosso
New City

In response to Paul Savad's Community View, "RLUIPA: Any review by lawmakers must weigh all sides."

We, the members of the Hillside Avenue Preservation Association, HAPA, Inc., agree wholeheartedly that lawmakers must weigh all sides with regard to land-use treatment of religious groups in Rockland County. It is for this very reason and the lack of consideration of our concerns and rights with regard to the proposed yeshiva and adult student housing on Hillside Avenue in Airmont that this community-based organization was formed. The proposed yeshiva and adult student housing were to be constructed without regard to the devastating impact that the development would inflict on the surrounding area.

Zoning laws should never be used to deny the free exercise of religion; however they also cannot be completely ignored. Zoning laws are responsible for providing for the safety of everyone in our communities with regard to a whole host of issues, like traffic safety and environmental factors such as clean water, protection of endangered species and adequate sewage systems. Development, and especially religious development, must occur, but not at the expense of the rights and the safety of everyone and the world we live in.

Cassie Strasser
Monsey