Coastal Family Church fights back after judge bans worship in strip mall unit with restrictive covenants

Coastal Family Church in Flagler Beach, Florida, is pushing back against a Seventh Judicial Circuit Court judge's temporary injunction issued last Thursday, which bans it from holding worship services in a unit they purchased in a strip mall where property covenants prohibit large gatherings.

“Until the resolution of this case Defendant is enjoined effective immediately from utilizing Unit 1 as a place of public assembly and is prohibited from allowing public assemblies put on by any entity to occur there,” Circuit Judge Sandra Upchurch wrote in her order granting Flagler Square the temporary injunction. “Defendant may elect to allow the property to be used for administrative purposes or for office space so long as the restrictive covenants are being followed.”

Upchurch also temporarily barred Coastal Family Church and its pastor, Rod Palmer, from doing any construction or modification to the condo unit “which would facilitate public assemblies” while the injunction is in place.

Liberty Counsel, the religious liberty nonprofit law firm representing the church and its pastor, filed an appeal to Fifth District Court of Appeal on Monday, arguing that the mall’s ban on public gatherings “is an unconstitutional restriction on the First Amendment rights of speech, assembly, and religious exercise, and violates Florida law by preventing the church from using its own property to gather and worship.”

Pastor Palmer bought the condo unit that used to house Badcock Furniture in Flagler Beach’s Flagler Square for $1.8 million last July after hosting a church event there with some 400 people in March 2025.

The 19,000-square-foot condo unit was previously owned by Young & Pate, which had leased the space to the furniture store, Flagler Live reported. Prior to selling the unit to Palmer, YP’s attorneys warned in an email that the property could not be used for large gatherings after learning about the event the church held before closing.

“Please be advised and understand that you are not authorized by my client to conduct any meetings or assemblies that in any way constitute or arguably constitute violations of the use restrictions for which you have been previously provided and are fully aware of,” YP attorney Mark Turner wrote in an email to Palmer on April 11, 2025.

“… if you disregard this request to cease and desist any arguable activities that could be interpreted or argued as use restriction violations, my client will hold you accountable and pursue appropriate legal proceedings, as may be required to protect its interest and specifically will pursue action should any legal proceedings be initiated by Flagler Square seeking any kind of damage or liability assessment based upon your activities in the subject property prior to closing.”

Still, the church submitted a building permit application to Flagler Beach last August, outlining plans to convert the condo “from retail to church.”

The Flagler Square condominium was organized by, among others, Flagler Square-Jax, a Delray Beach company that owns all the other retail units at the strip mall, including an 11,700-square-foot unit, housing a Dollar Tree, adjacent to Coastal Family Church. 

The covenants that control the property state that, “All provisions of the Declaration shall be construed to be perpetual covenants running with the Land.” This means that even if a unit is sold, the covenants will still apply. One of the restrictions explicitly states that the condo units in the mall cannot be used as a “banquet hall, auditorium or other place of public assembly.” 

In their lawsuit against Palmer and his land trust last August, Flagler Square-Jax argued, among other things, that the church would “overwhelm” the 315 parking spaces available for other businesses, and “significantly and materially diminish the value of the Shopping Center as well as the ability to finance the Shopping Center at all times moving forward.”

Liberty Counsel argues that even with Sunday services, the mall would still have 160 parking spots available. The law firm also argued that the condo association’s lawsuit selectively enforces the “public assembly” restriction, as the mall is “home to a consignment store and a Fraternal Order of Police lodge that regularly hosts bingo nights and rents its facility to the public for public assembly.”

In its appeal of Upchurch’s order, Liberty Counsel pointed to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and several Florida laws that protect the church. These include Fla. Stat. § 712.065 — Prohibition on Religious Discriminatory Covenants; Fla. Stat. §718.123 — Right of Owners to Peaceably Assemble; and Fla. Stat. 761 — Florida Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The nonprofit law firm further noted that the condominium covenants are also subordinate to the protections of the church under the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.

“This injunction unconstitutionally shutters a house of worship with no compelling government interest to do so. Every Sunday that the doors of Coastal Family Church remain closed inflicts irreparable spiritual and constitutional injury on its congregation,” Liberty Counsel founder and Chairman Mat Staver said in a statement.

“The U.S. Constitution and Florida laws are clear that Pastor Roderick Palmer and Coastal Family Church have the right to hold church services on church property and that restrictive covenants cannot ban religious assembly. This injunction must be stayed and reversed,” he added.