A church alleging a Texas town discriminated against it based on religion by scuttling its plans for a homeless shelter has seen many of its claims dismissed, but can proceed on some of its allegations. U.S. District Judge Jeremy Kernodle of the Eastern District of Texas in Tyler sided with the city of Canton's arguments Wednesday and dismissed five of seven claims by New Beginnings Houston, a church that believes serving God means housing and clothing the needy. However, two unchallenged claims will proceed in the litigation, and for two other claims, Kernodle gave the church a chance to amend its pleadings and give better details about how the city allegedly treated other facilities differently than itself. Cities across the nation are searching for solutions to house people experiencing homelessness. As happens regularly across the country—including in public scuffles between Texas and city of Austin officials over homeless camps—the church alleges its dispute with Canton shows a "Not In My Backyard" backlash to a plan for a new homeless shelter coming into the Canton community. But the city counters that the church's facility was unsafe and out-of-code, and they're just enforcing their city ordinance that's meant to ensure the health and safety of the community. The court's Dec. 18 order on a motion to dismiss said that the church mainly operated homeless shelters in Houston until after Hurricane Harvey in 2017, when it sought to expand. It bought an old nursing home in Canton and volunteers worked to clean and repair the facility to convert into a homeless shelter. The city resisted from the beginning and refused occupancy permits, alleging the building violated a city property maintenance ordinance, citing improper electrical wiring, black mold, asbestos and other problems. The defendants challenged the lawsuit by filing a motion to dismiss, alleging five of the seven causes of action failed because the plaintiffs failed to state claims for which the court could grant relief. Two unchallenged causes of action can move forward: one allegation the city failed to grant the church a religious accommodation, and a claim for injunctive relief. But the court did dismiss all five claims challenged by the defendants. One of their main arguments was that the city ordinance that's central to the dispute was enacted in 2015, way before New Beginnings bought the nursing home in 2017. That meant the church couldn't argue a regulatory takings claim by the city. The court also rejected the plaintiffs' arguments that the ordinance was retroactively applied to the church and the city failed to provide due process before it condemned the property. One of the church's central religious liberty claims failed, the court ruled, because the plaintiffs' complaint failed to allege the city's condemnation decision was based on religion rather than concerns about the facility's safety. The court rejected the plaintiffs' arguments that those were pretextual reasons to discriminate based on religion. "The only allegations about defendants' motive to enforce the ordinance against the plaintiffs' facility show the opposite—that defendants are concerned the facility presents health and safety risks," the order said. However, for two of the dismissed claims, the plaintiffs still have hope. The church alleged the city treated it differently than other nursing homes that were similarly out of compliance with the ordinance. The court, ruling the plaintiffs simply didn't give enough details about these other nursing homes, gave the plaintiffs 30 days to file an amended complaint and provide better details.

The defendants' lawyer, Edwin Voss Jr. of Brown & Hofmeister in Richardson, didn't return a call or email seeking comment before deadline.

New Beginnings Minister Joe Donalson, who's also a plaintiff in the case, noted that the nation is embroiled in a debate about whether cities without adequate housing for people experiencing homelessness are able to stop those people from camping outside.

He vowed to continue fighting Canton however he can.

"The bottom line is: We're not going anywhere," Donalson said. "We're going to continue—whether it's in teepees or tents out in the field."

Read the order: