COLLIER TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A local church filed a federal lawsuit against a township over alleged religious discrimination.
Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church accuses Collier Township of imposing unreasonable restrictions and refusing to grant permits for the church to build a new chapel.
The 13,000-square-foot chapel would be built on Ridge Road, right next to Holy Trinity’s cemetery and four miles from its main building along Washington Avenue in Carnegie.
According to the lawsuit, Collier commissioners first denied the project in September of 2024, citing noise and traffic concerns.
They later approved a scaled-down version with conditions on the chapel’s size and usage. Also, the chapel could not ring its bell at certain times.
Holy Trinity’s attorneys claim Collier Township has allowed other land uses without restriction, namely the local carpenters’ union.
“The township has shown clear discrimination in applying strict limitations on the church but giving free rein to comparable secular activities and neighboring organizations,” said Jeremy Dys, senior counsel for First Liberty Institute, which represents Holy Trinity along with Troutman Pepper Locke LLP and the Independence Law Center.
The township’s legal counsel says it has not reviewed the lawsuit in detail, but says the township denies the allegations.
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