A federal judge recently struck down a motion to dismiss claims of religious discrimination by the Historic District Commission � among the latest developments in a busy summer of depositions and motions in a legal battle between the borough�s historic preservationists and a local Orthodox Jewish congregation.

The filings push the case closer to what Chabad Lubavitch of Northwest Connecticut requested in its lawsuit: a jury trial that would rule on the commission�s ability to dictate the size and appearance of religious buildings in a borough listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Led by Rabbi Joseph I. Eisenbach, the local Chabad congregation seeks to build a temple and community center on West Street near the Green.

The Historic District Commission voted against granting a �certificate of appropriateness� in December 2007. The commission ruled that the 21,000-square-foot addition proposed was too large and not compatible with the 2,656-square-foot, two-story former home built in 1872 by one of the town�s most prominent early citizens, Julius Deming.

(Source: Rep-Am)