Justice Department Files Statement of Interest in Religious Land Use Case in Clarion, Pennsylvania, Alleging Unequal Treatment of Religious Assembly Uses

Excerpt:  “The Justice Department filed a statement of interest today in the Western District of Pennsylvania supporting a lawsuit brought by the Hope Rising Community Church, which alleges that the Borough of Clarion’s zoning code violates the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). The statement of interest was filed in Hope Rising Community Church v. Borough of Clarion, a lawsuit alleging that the Borough violated RLUIPA by enacting and enforcing zoning provisions that treat religious uses less favorably than similar secular assemblies. The lawsuit alleges that the Church has outgrown its current facility and that the only suitable property in the Borough is located in the Borough’s C-2 Commercial District. This District does not allow houses of worship, but permits nonreligious assembly uses like theaters and civic/cultural buildings. When the Church approached the Borough about using the property for religious purposes, Borough officials allegedly told the Church that the Borough would not grant zoning approval and that the Borough did not ‘need any more Churches.'”