Carl Paladino now says if elected governor he would use the power of eminent domain to block the Muslim community center and mosque from being built two blocks from Ground Zero. In a long post that appeared this morning on the candidate’s Facebook page, Paladino said he would make the site a war memorial “instead of a monument to those who attacked our country.”

“Paladino scoffed at critics who claim federal law prohibits his strategy to stop the Islamic mosque. “I’ve been driving land-use issues for 40 years, and I understand the full powers of the governor,” he said. “If the ACLU or anyone else wants to challenge me in court, I’m ready for the fight.”

Which isn’t exactly the same as explaining how his strategy wouldn’t violate the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000. An excerpt from its text:

(b) DISCRIMINATION AND EXCLUSION-

(1) EQUAL TERMS- No government shall impose or implement a land use regulation in a manner that treats a religious assembly or institution on less than equal terms with a nonreligious assembly or institution.

(2) NONDISCRIMINATION- No government shall impose or implement a land use regulation that discriminates against any assembly or institution on the basis of religion or religious denomination.

(3) EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITS- No government shall impose or implement a land use regulation that–

(A) totally excludes religious assemblies from a jurisdiction; or

(B) unreasonably limits religious assemblies, institutions, or structures within a jurisdiction.

The idea of using eminent domain is something of a reversal of Paladino’s earlier strategy, as described by Paladino campaign manager Michael Caputo in an e-mail response to a column I wrote on the issue: “Carl is one of many community leaders who can do something about (the mosque); none are a part of the government and the Religious Land Use law therefore doesn’t apply.”

In an e-mail exchange this morning,Caputo explained the switch thusly:

Initially our team thought private citizens – New Yorkers with standing – could bring suit and thwart the mosque. Some time after my statement, … they determined eminent domain is a faster and more effective way to stop the mosque. Their idea: a RLUIPA challenge will not hold up to a sound eminent domain strategy and this is, in fact, the best way to move forward. Once this property has been secured through eminent domain the area would be declared a War Memorial. How that area is defined and what can be done with it will be determined through the process.

Update: Paladino took time to talk to me on his plan later in the afternoon, and we had something I had thought was well-nigh-impossible on this issue: a thoughtful and civil exchange.

He acknowledged that the federal government would have the ultimate decision as to whether or not the site would become a war memorial, and that the rules establishing the district would likely have to exclude the construction of all new houses of worship within its borders in order to ensure that a mosque couldn’t be built there.

“A mosque would be unacceptable,” he said. “ … This is an ideological question, not a freedom of religion issue.”

Paladino suggested that the outline of the district could extend as far as the debris from the 9/11 attacks was distributed.

Patricia Salkin, an associate dean at Albany Law School who directs its Government Law Center, said that RLUIPA does not apply in cases of eminent domain — although its use would first have to go through the established state and municipal development process.

“You would have to show that it’s part of an overall plan,” said Salkin, who also teaches land use and planning courses at the University at Albany. She maintains Law of the Land, a blog on land use issues that has delved extensively into RLUIPA cases.

She noted that while it would be impossible to exclude mosques while allowing churches or synagogues in such a district, the courts remain split on the question of whether or not all houses of worship could be banned if similar public gathering places — such as movie theaters or lecture halls — were allowed.

Here’s Paladino’s full statement: