SAN DIEGO -- A pastor has filed a lawsuit against the city of San Diego, accusing it of discrimination for charging churches more to rent space than other nonprofit groups, it was reported Tuesday.

Rev. Christopher Chadwick last week filed the federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court in San Diego, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Chadwick, the pastor of the Canyon Ridge Baptist Church, began renting space at the Kearny Mesa Recreation Center three years ago for church services and other programs, according to the newspaper.

When fees were raised in July, the church's average rent jumped from about $1,500 a month to more than $4,000, depending on how many services and programs Chadwick conducts, according to the Union-Tribune.

According to the lawsuit, the city has a three-tiered fee structure in renting out rooms at the recreation renter, the newspaper reported.

The complaint stated that advisory groups are permitted free use of the public space; community groups pay as little as $10 per meeting and private groups pay $40 an hour, the Union-Tribune reported.

The suit says Girl Scouts and Little League clubs are classified as advisory groups; associations such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Kiwanis are defined as community groups; and private groups are defined as commercial or fundraising, or private schools and churches, the newspaper reported.

The suit, which names as defendants the city and a number of officials, seeks an injunction against what it calls discriminatory fees, plus compensation for legal costs and other damages.