Supreme Court Takes Up Kentucky Neighbors' Challenge to Catholic Shrine Zoning

The U.S. Supreme Court has granted certiorari in a case brought by Park Hills homeowners Joel and Elizabeth Frederic who aim to stop the Missionaries of St. John the Baptist from constructing a small Virgin Mary grotto, a statue of St. Bernadette, a patio and a walkway on land they already own. The conflict stems from a 2021 variance and conditional-use permit approved by the Park Hills Board of Adjustment and justified under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.

A trial court dismissed the neighbors’ objections, the Kentucky Court of Appeals reversed that decision, and the Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed that the city overstepped its zoning authority. The justices will now decide how RLUIPA’s “substantial burden” standard applies, a ruling that could affect municipal zoning practices nationwide. Legal representation includes First Liberty Institute, led by Kelly Shackelford, and attorneys from Quinn Emanuel and Breidenstein Legal Services, with John Bash noting Congress’s intent to shield religious groups from local land-use restrictions. No oral-argument date has been scheduled.