Northglenn Sued Over Ban on Religious Gatherings in Park

Four church leaders sued the City of Northglenn, Colorado, in federal court in November 2025, alleging that a new city ordinance restricting recurring group gatherings in public parks was designed to shut down their weekly worship services and meals for homeless residents. The Northglenn lawsuit over religious gatherings in the park, David Baca et al. v. City of Northglenn (Case No. 1:25-cv-03678), was filed by the American Center for Law and Justice in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. The city has since dropped criminal charges against three of the plaintiffs, but the civil case remains active and has moved into discovery.

What the Churches Were Doing in the Park

Starting in July 2020, volunteers from three churches — Brave Church and The Crossing Church in Westminster, and Next Step Christian Church in Thornton — began meeting at E.B. Rains Jr. Memorial Park in Northglenn. The group gathered every Tuesday and Thursday from noon to 1 p.m., sharing meals with homeless residents, praying, holding Bible study, and playing worship music. Tuesday attendance ran 30 to 40 people; Thursdays drew about 20.¹ The meetings continued for roughly four years without complaint from the city.²

The Ordinance at the Center of the Case

On June 9, 2025, the Northglenn City Council unanimously adopted City Resolution 54 (CR-54), which amended the city’s public facilities standards. The ordinance prohibits “group use” of pavilions and outdoor spaces on a “recurrent basis,” defining group use as five or more people and “recurrent” as more than once in a way that “monopolizes all or a portion of the facility” and “impedes open access” by others.³ Athletic fields were exempted, provided groups obtained a permit.¹

On September 18, 2025, Northglenn police issued criminal citations under Northglenn Municipal Code § 9-10-2 to Pastor Dustin Mackintosh of Next Step Christian Church and Brave Church members Brent Denny and David McCamish, charging them with violating CR-54.²

Why the Plaintiffs Say They Were Targeted

The lawsuit alleges that enforcement focused on the churches while other recurring groups went untouched. The complaint names a seniors’ fitness group, an adult daycare service, pickleball players, walking clubs, scout troops, and run clubs that all met regularly at the park without citations.⁴

The plaintiffs also point to statements and conduct by city officials. In July 2024, Police Chief James May told the church leaders he had been “tasked with shutting down” their gatherings.⁵ On September 24, 2024, city officials held a private meeting exclusively with the pastors from the three churches, telling them the gatherings were “too big and disruptive.” No other community groups were summoned to a similar meeting, according to the complaint. When citations were issued in September 2025, officers asked participants which churches they belonged to and how large those congregations were.⁶

What the City Says

City Manager Heather Geyer said the ordinance “is applied equally to all individuals and groups, regardless of religious affiliation,” and described the recurrent-use rule as a way to “ensure equitable and safe use” of public spaces. Officials traced the policy discussion to 2022 and “significant concerns from residents about safety issues” at the park.⁷ The city’s broader position is that the ordinance “had nothing to do with religion.”⁴

A city memo cited 322 police calls for service at E.B. Rains Jr. Park over two years, stating that roughly 15 percent involved people associated with the church lunch program. The memo listed a stabbing, an unregistered sex offender providing alcohol to a child, harassment of a child, and an assault on a police officer among the incidents it attributed to the park environment.⁴

What the Lawsuit Claims and Seeks

Filed on November 14, 2025, the complaint names four plaintiffs: Pastor David Baca of The Crossing Church, Pastor Dustin Mackintosh of Next Step Christian Church, and Brave Church members Ronald Brent Denny and David McCamish. The defendants are the City of Northglenn, Police Chief James May Jr., City Manager Heather Geyer, and Parks Director Amanda Peterson.⁵

The suit raises First Amendment free-exercise and viewpoint-discrimination claims and a Fourteenth Amendment equal-protection claim based on selective enforcement.⁴ It also argues that CR-54 is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad because terms like “monopolizes” and “impedes open access” are undefined, and that the ordinance “criminalizes the vast majority of group activities in public parks.”⁶

The plaintiffs ask the court to bar enforcement of CR-54 against them, to declare that the city violated their constitutional rights, and to award compensatory or nominal damages along with attorney’s fees.⁷

Where the Case Stands Now

Three days after the lawsuit was filed, the city council held a public hearing on CR-54 on November 17, 2025. Mayor Meredith Leighty said the council needed more time to decide whether to amend or remove the measure, and no immediate action was taken.⁷

On January 16, 2026, the city dropped all criminal charges against Mackintosh, Denny, and McCamish, and the council also unanimously passed amendments to CR-54. The civil suit is a separate matter and continues. The federal case is now in pre-trial discovery, with both sides exchanging documents and preparing to depose city officials. A scheduling conference was set for March 17, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.⁸

1
Archive.org. David Baca et al. v. City of Northglenn, Complaint
2
ACLJ. Motion and Order, Mackintosh
3
City of Northglenn. CR-54, Public Facilities Standards
4
Daily Camera. Northglenn Religious Discrimination Lawsuit, Homeless Park
5
Complete Colorado. Northglenn Slapped With Lawsuit Over Religious Gatherings in Park
6
ACLJ. Motion and Order, Denny
7
KDVR. Northglenn to Hold Public Hearing Over Amendment at Center of Federal ACLJ Lawsuit
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Complete Colorado. Northglenn Drops Charges Over City Park Religious Gatherings