A decade after a Jewish congregation began trying to build a house of worship in Boca Raton, a feud over the plan has spilled into an appeals courtroom.

Three judges heard arguments Wednesday on a resident’s accusations the city of Boca Raton colluded with the Chabad of East Boca Raton, bending zoning rules to allow the new synagogue near the downtown.

Resident Gerald Gagliardi’s legal challenge stems from July 2015, when Boca’s City Council approved of the Jewish congregation’s $10 million project on nearly an acre of land at 770 E. Palmetto Park Road.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Marci Hamilton, a lawyer representing Gagliardi, said the city changed its zoning rules “for the benefit of a single religious entity,” doing it “behind closed doors.”

Gagliardi is appealing his case against the city after a federal judge dismissed it twice since 2015, at the request of the city. Hamilton said her client was ultimately looking to get the zoning reversed.

The city also requested the court toss the most recent attempt. Since the rezoning opened the site to redevelopment for all religious organizations, the city argued the lawsuit didn’t have standing when it came to giving the Chabad preferential treatment.

The case is the latest in a string of lawsuits over the project, which called for a synagogue and museum on a prime piece of real estate east of the Intracoastal Waterway.

There has been a long-running debate over the plan. It drew objections from neighbors, who were mostly concerned about increased traffic. And it brought the support of members of Chabad of East Boca. They were eager to have a synagogue within walking distance, including on Jewish high holidays, in accordance with their religious beliefs.

The congregation says the lawsuit is an attempt to discriminate against houses of worship.

“All we’re asking for is equal treatment,” said Rabbi Ruvi New, head of the Chabad of East Boca Raton. “We’re grateful that the city and our local community have long treated us fairly, and we’re hopeful that the court will protect our right to be equal members of the Boca Raton community.”

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra had thrown out Gagliardi’s lawsuit in March after dismissing it in the summer of 2016, but Gagliardi filed an appeal in June.

It’s unclear when, or if, plans for the site will resurface for the Chabad.

The site plans were rejected by a judicial panel in 2016, and no other versions have been submitted since, according to the Chabad.

The organization is embroiled in a separate lawsuit with the landowner, TJCV Land Trust — the former head of the trust, Irving Litwak, had promised to give the land to the Chabad, but died before that happened, according to the city.

Months later, the city said, Litwak’s son pitched the idea of using the site as a parking lot in a letter to the city.

The hearing on the Gagliardi case began Wednesday in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Miami and is scheduled to resume Thursday.

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