A church in Marietta has won part of a federal lawsuit it filed to overturn Marietta's zoning code so the church could build a sanctuary and boarding school.

The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Clarence Cooper does not say whether the facilities can be built. That issue and others remain unresolved by Cooper's March 31 interim ruling.

Covenant Christian Ministries, Inc. filed a lawsuit against the city in 2006 under a federal religious freedom law which aims to provide greater protection to houses of worship and other religious institutions from discrimination in zoning codes.

Covenant planned to build an 800-seat sanctuary, a dormitory for as many as 24 people, a gym and a playground on land zoned for residential use. The church facilities would be built on 8.3 acres the church owns a few miles south of the Marietta Square, at the intersection of Powder Springs Road and Chestnut Hill Road.

Marietta contends the zoning for the site allows only homes to be built there. The city updated its land use codes in 2004 to resolve a lawsuit filed by another church, said Dana Maine, an attorney who represents Marietta.

Cooper's interim ruling states the city's zoning code violates the equal protection terms of the federal law, passed in 2000 and known as the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.

Cooper's ruling is not the end of the case. Other issues are yet to be resolved.

The church's legal team includes Alliance Defense Fund, a faith-based law firm founded in 1994. Its Internet page lists James Dobson, of Focus on the Family, as a co-founder of the group that says it aims to "protect the freedom of religion, guard the sanctity of human life, and preserve marriage and traditional family values."