The city's Historic Review Commission yesterday heard more wrangling over legal wording that would exempt any building used for religious worship or education from historic status.

Historic status protects buildings from demolition unless they become hazardous.

The city's law now gives the owner of a religious property the right to nominate it for historic status, but the definition of religious property has been left to interpretation.

When Lawrenceville preservationists nominated the 155-year-old St. Mary's Academy in October, the owner, the Catholic Cemeteries Association, claimed it was a religious structure and challenged their right to nominate it.

Built to be both a church and a school, it was a school much longer and vacant even longer. The historic review commission voted in favor of the nomination in October; City Council will hear the case Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.

District 9 Councilman Ricky Burgess, a minister, submitted a draft of a bill to exempt any building a religious organization owns and uses from nomination under the "substantial hardship" defense.

Several religious groups have wanted to demolish buildings, citing economic hardship, and have been stymied by nominations.

Mr. Burgess said he wants his bill to mirror a federal law that prohibits land-use discrimination against religious organizations.

Steven Paul, director of Preservation Pittsburgh, said the current law is inherently unfair and that Mr. Burgess' bill to eliminate religious discrimination "is powerfully ironic. Prior to the current law, there was no discrimination at all. Now religious organizations have a privilege no one else enjoys."

He recommended the commission eliminate the exemption instead of considering expanding it.

Mr. Burgess said he was moved to act when last year the Mexican War Streets Society nominated the original Knights of Malta Temple.

The owner, the Salvation Army, claimed it was too expensive to renovate and initially considered buying the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church several blocks west. After an uprising of some residents, the Salvation Army proposed tearing down the Malta Temple to expand and modernize services in that location. The Mexican War Streets Society then nominated the Malta.

Mr. Burgess said the motive struck him as religious intolerance more than desire for preservation.

The Malta Temple's historic status was approved this year.

Larry Bonmiller, of the city's legal department, said courts have not upheld economic hardship defenses because the federal law is meant to address religious freedom to practice, not its location. He said the legal department will work with Mr. Burgess to refine the bill.