Morris County Statement on Historic Preservation Lawsuit – Morris County, NJ

Published on May 10, 2023

Morris County Statement on Historic Preservation Lawsuit

The Morris County Board of County Commissioners released the following statement today in response to media inquiries about the lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey regarding the Morris County Historic Preservation Program:

“For the past 20 years, grants provided through Morris County’s Historic Preservation Program have been used to preserve and restore 122 historically significant sites, including several churches and religious facilities. However, the New Jersey Supreme Court ordered Morris County in 2018 to no longer include religious sites in the grant program. While Morris County pursued that case in federal court, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the ruling of the state court. We hope this current federal legal challenge proceeds quickly and provides clear guidance as to whether Morris County may once again grant funds to preserve historically significant religious sites.”