FW Triangle LP v. Zoning Hearing Board

820 A.2d 823, 2003 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 146
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedMarch 12, 2003
StatusPublished

This text of 820 A.2d 823 (FW Triangle LP v. Zoning Hearing Board) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
FW Triangle LP v. Zoning Hearing Board, 820 A.2d 823, 2003 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 146 (Pa. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinions

OPINION BY Judge LEAVITT.

F.W. Triangle, L.P., James Bradenber-ger and James Sheridan (collectively Appellants) appeal from the order of the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County (trial court) denying them a demolition permit to raze a residence, known as the Clime House, that was built in 1797. In doing so, the trial court affirmed the decision of the Upper Dublin Township Zoning Hearing Board (Board) and the Township Zoning Officer to refuse to issue a demolition permit. We affirm.

F.W. Triangle is the owner of property (Property) located at 1668 Susquehanna Road in Upper Darby Township, on which a barn and a residence, each over 100 years in age, are located. The house is a stone structure of historical significance; indeed, one of its distinguishing features is a 1797 date stone. The Property is located in an A-Residential Zoning District and is also subject to the provisions of the Dresher Overlay District that requires conditional use permits for certain specified nonresidential uses.

On August 16, 2000, Appellants requested a preliminary opinion from the Township on their proposed non-residential development of the Property. Their request was considered by the Township Zoning Officer and Building Officer, Richard D. Barton (Zoning Officer), pursuant to Section 916.2 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10916.2.1 Ap-[825]*825peUants submitted a site plan, described as a concept plan, showing a proposal for two restaurants, two office buildings and a day care center. At Appellants’ request, the concept plan was advertised in the Ambler Gazette as complying with the use regulations of the Zoning Ordinance and the provisions of the Dresher Overlay District.

Several months later, Appellants applied for a permit to demolish both the house and the barn located on the Property. After receiving the application for a demolition permit, the Zoning Officer contacted one of the Appellants, Brandenberger, by telephone. Bradenberger reiterated that the development of the Property would be consistent with the concept plan.

On February 8, 2001, the Township issued the demolition permit for the barn2 but not the house. It denied the permit to demolish the house because the application failed to comply with Section 255-219.B of the Zoning Ordinance, which requires that any building constructed prior to 1900 be retained and incorporated into the proposed development in a way that maintains the general appearance of the building.3 The Zoning Officer reasoned that, “I would need more convincing reasons for not retaining the house, given the goals of the zoning district.” Reproduced Record, 8 (R.R.__.).

Appellants appealed the denial of the demolition permit to the Board, which denied their appeal. In doing so, the Board determined that,

The activity undertaken by the applicants including correspondence with the Zoning Officer, filing and advertisement of a Concept Plan, telephone conversations with the Zoning Officer concerning proposed uses and application for a demolition permit are sufficient to render the appealing parties “applicants” under Section 255-219.B. giving them the responsibility of demonstrating compliance with the conditional use standards set forth in Section 255-219.B. Since the applicants have not demonstrated that the building in question at 1668 Susquehanna Road is not compatible with their proposed uses, the action of the Zoning Officer was proper and the appeal therefrom is denied.

Board Opinion, 8, R.R. 135 (emphasis added).

Appellants then appealed the decision of the Board to the trial court, which affirmed the Board. The trial court reasoned that,

In the instant matter, credible evidence shows that while Appellants were seeking the demolition permit for the home, they also intended to proceed with the development of the property in accordance with the concept plan that had been previously submitted to the Zoning Officer. Accordingly, the Zoning Officer denied the demolition permit for the [826]*826house on the basis that Appellants should instead proceed by filing a conditional use application to show why the retention of the house is not compatible with their development plan. The Zoning Officer acted properly in not allowing the demolition of this historical home. The evidence established that Appellants’ development plan for the property would have required their compliance with 255-219.
To permit a developer to simply destroy an historical structure, which is the [sic] properly regulated under a Municipal Zoning Ordinance, on the eve of development, would render all such Municipal Ordinances meaningless.

Trial Court Opinion, 5-6, R.R. 152-153 (emphasis added). Appellants then appealed to this Court.4

On appeal, Appellants contend that the trial court erred. They assert that the application for a demolition permit was submitted to the Township pursuant to the Building Code and not pursuant to the Zoning Ordinance. Accordingly, the permit should have been considered without regard to the development plans that had been filed as a “concept plan,”5 approved and published in the Amber Gazette as complying with the Zoning Ordinance under the provisions of the Dresher Overlay District.

A demolition permit is a form of a building permit controlled by the provisions set forth in the Building Code.6 Section 112.1 of the Building Code provides that the enforcement official shall reject an application if it does not conform to all pertinent laws and ordinances,7 The Zoning Ordinance is such a “pertinent law,” and it could be considered by the Township when reviewing Appellant’s application for a demolition permit. However, Appellants contend that the application for the demolition permit was a proposal to create a vacant lot, which did not require a conditional use approval in the Dresher Overlay District. Appellants rely on Gwynedd Properties, Inc. v. Lower Gwynedd Township, 150 Pa.Cmwlth. 124, 615 A.2d 836 (1992), to support their contention.

At issue in Gwynedd was a 27-acre track of dense forest and woodland, known [827]*827as Penllyn Woods. In 1987, the landowner submitted a proposed subdivision plan, which was denied by the Township Board of Supervisors. Thereafter, the Township condemned8 Penllyn Woods for park purposes, and the landowner began to destroy Penllyn Woods by cutting down acres of trees. The landowner admitted that the trees were being intentionally destroyed in order to discourage the Township’s interest in acquisition of the property by condemnation. The Township filed suit to enjoin further destruction of the trees, and the trial court issued a temporary restraining order and, then, a preliminary injunction. The landowner moved to dissolve the preliminary injunction, which the trial court denied. The landowner appealed to this Court.

On appeal, the landowner in Gwynedd

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Related

White Advertising Metro, Inc. v. Zoning Hearing Board
453 A.2d 29 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1982)
Gwynedd Properties, Inc. v. Lower Gwynedd Township
615 A.2d 836 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1992)

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820 A.2d 823, 2003 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 146, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fw-triangle-lp-v-zoning-hearing-board-pacommwct-2003.