Don’t let the for-sale sign fool you. Vineyard Christian Fellowship isn’t going anywhere soon and neither is its lawsuit.

Mark Sargis, an attorney for Vineyard, said the church only decided to place its building, 1800 Ridge Ave., on the market so it would be able to buy another building if a suitable one were found.

“They’ve been looking for years and years,” Sargis said. “It’s possible they might find something, but they haven’t yet. Let’s just say they’re not holding their breath.”

At Evanston City Council’s May 8 meeting, Ald. Arthur Newman (1st) said he hoped the church would find a new building soon so both parties could avoid expensive legal costs. But Sargis said the church would continue with its lawsuit against the city even if it did purchase another building.

Because city zoning codes prevent Vineyard from holding religious services in its building, it now houses the church’s administrative offices, storage spaces and community activities. About 700 people attend Vineyard’s services at Evanston Township High School’s auditorium every Sunday.

Vineyard, which bought the building without a guarantee from the city that it would grant zoning relief, filed its first lawsuit in 1998 after the council denied the church’s request for a zoning amendment.

Vineyard withdrew the case in January 1999 when city officials agreed to consider a second zoning request. The church tried to strike a deal with the city, offering an annual $35,000 cash payment and $25,000 in social services.

But City Council voted 6-3 in June against an amendment to the 1993 city zoning ordinance that would have permitted Vineyard to hold religious services in the building as a special use. Because Vineyard was unable to find any other suitable property within the city or surrounding communities, church officials refiled the lawsuit in January.

Vineyard gained a new ally in its lawsuit May 8 when Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan filed to appear in court and defend a state law the city has called unconstitutional.

The city has questioned the constitutionality of the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1998 — a law that prevents state and local governments from infringing upon the religious freedom of its residents.

Sargis said he was pleased that Ryan decided to join the lawsuit because the attorney general doesn’t intervene in most cases.

“I think it’s significant,” Sargis said. “It’s certainly something that Vineyard welcomes.”

Sargis said the city has violated the law by barring religious institutions from certain zoning districts. He said a cultural center could use the same space to hold similar activities but the church is prohibited because its services revolve around God.

“It discriminates against the church,” Sargis said. “If the subject matter of Vineyard weren’t God, then the city code might allow for that activity.”

But Newman said the law gives churches an unfair advantage over other organizations.

“It gives privileges and benefits to religious institutions that the Constitution says they shouldn’t get,” Newman said. “(Churches) should be treated equally, not in a superior fashion.”

Religious institutions are not permitted in certain commercial zoning districts because the city needs the tax money the buildings could provide, Newman said. Only 11 percent of the total amount of property in the city is commercial, and the city can’t afford to have any buildings taken off the tax rolls.

Vineyard’s building could provide about $230,000 in taxes annually, Newman said.

But he said taxes were not the only reason the council denied Vineyard’s zoning appeal. He said some of a church’s activities — such as a soup kitchen, homeless shelter or day-care center — could cause traffic or safety problems in the area.

“What zoning is about is so that certain uses don’t interfere with the rest of the neighbors,” Newman said. “A church is different from a cultural center. I don’t know of any cultural center that has a soup kitchen.”