A Ukrainian Catholic parish in the Pittsburgh area had owned a 41-acre mostly wooded parcel in Collier Township for more than seven decades. It planned a pilgrimage shrine with a chapel, bell tower, museum, gift shop, and retreat center honoring Mary and the sanctity of life. The township denied the parish's request to rezone and amend the zoning code after a hearing in which residents raised traffic and fundraising concerns, and in which several objections targeted the shrine's pro-life character.
Writing for a Third Circuit panel, Judge Stephanos Bibas called those objections the most troubling part of the record. A resident worried the pro-life focus would draw protests; a commissioner privately emailed colleagues that the board had avoided a potential problem. In a deposition, that commissioner said one reason for denial was the shrine's pro-life purpose and defended rejecting land-use approval based on the nature of the religious service. Bibas wrote that the statements suggested religious hostility and content-based discrimination, and that the denial was effectively absolute.
The panel majority still denied a preliminary injunction, reasoning that damages could compensate the parish; Judge Paul Matey dissented on that issue. Bibas, however, concluded the parish was very likely to succeed on a substantial-burden claim under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. The township later approved a smaller chapel but attached restrictions on bell ringing, chapel height, and memorial services. The single source provides no differing account for comparison.