Kershaw v. Upper Merion Township

26 Pa. D. & C.2d 243, 1961 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 102
CourtMontgomery County Court of Quarter Sessions
DecidedApril 7, 1961
Docketno. 30
StatusPublished

This text of 26 Pa. D. & C.2d 243 (Kershaw v. Upper Merion Township) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montgomery County Court of Quarter Sessions primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kershaw v. Upper Merion Township, 26 Pa. D. & C.2d 243, 1961 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 102 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1961).

Opinion

Honeyman, J.,

Plaintiffs in this action filed a complaint under the Second Class Township Code of May 1, 1933, P. L. 103, art. VII, sec. 702, cl. XXV, as amended, 53 PS §65741, which provides that, within 30 days after any ordinance takes effect, any person aggrieved may make complaint as to the legality of the ordinance to the court of quarter sessions. Plaintiffs contend that ordinance no. 86, passed by the Board of Supervisors of Upper Merion Township, on June 23,1960, is illegal because the procedure required by the Second Class Township Code and the Upper Merion Township Zoning Ordinance of 1942, as amended, for the enactment of an ordinance was not followed. The ordinance changed the zoning of a tract of ground in Upper Merion Township from “R-2” residential to “R-3” residential. King of Prussia Arms, Inc., a Pennsylvania corporation, as a party in interest, entered the proceedings before this court as an intervenor.

After hearing this court makes the following

Findings of Fact

1. Plaintiffs are Isaac Kershaw, 3rd, and Mary Anna Kershaw, his wife, and they reside at 165 Nancy Lane, King of Prussia, Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pa.

2. Defendant, Upper Merion Township, is a second class township in Montgomery County, Pa., existing under The Second Class Township Code of May 1, 1933, P. L. 103, as amended, 53 PS §65101-67605.

3. On January 11,1960, an advertisement appeared in the Times Herald, a newspaper of general circulation published in Norristown, to the effect that the Board of Supervisors of Upper Merion Township would hold their regular monthly meeting on the second Thursday of each month during 1960, and [246]*246would hold special meetings for the conduct of general township business on the first, third, and fourth Thursday of each month until further notice.

4. In February of 1960, Kjell Ingebrigtsen submitted an application or request to the Board of Supervisors of Upper Merion Township to change the zoning of a tract of land of approximately 3.22 acres from “R-2” residential to “R-3” residential.

5. On December 4, 1959, an agreement of sale for the property in question was executed between E. Jane Martin as seller and I. A. Ingebrigtsen et ux., as buyers, or their nominees. Settlement took place on April 7, 1960, and the deed was executed to I. A. Ingebrigtsen and Gudrun Ingebrigtsen as straw parties for King of Prussia Arms, Inc., as corroborated by an examination of the recorded deed in the recorder of deeds’ office.

6. I. A. Ingebrigtsen and his wife are the parents of Kjell Ingebrigtsen.

7. Kjell Ingebrigtsen is the president of King of Prussia Arms, Inc., and the property is presently titled in the name of the corporation. At the date of settlement for the property the corporation’s registered name was King of Prussia Apartments, Inc., but articles of amendment were filed in the fall of 1960 and the corporate name is now King of Prussia Arms, Inc.

8. On March 31, 1960, at a meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Upper Merion Township, a resolution was enacted establishing a zoning hearing for April 18,1960, to consider the application to rezone the property in question.

9. On April 7, 1960, there was published in the Times Herald a notice that the Board of Supervisors of Upper Merion Township would hold a public meeting on Thursday, April 21, 1960, for the purpose of [247]*247acting upon the application for rezoning of the property in question.

10. On April 13, 1960, there was published in the Times Herald a notice that the Board of Supervisors of Upper Merion Township would hold a public meeting on Thursday, April 28, 1960, for the purpose of acting upon the application for rezoning of the property in question. This notice stated the application would not be considered on Thursday, April 21, 1960, as previously advertised.

11. On Thursday, April 28,1960, the public meeting of the township supervisors was held and the rezoning was discussed. At this meeting, Kjell Ingebrigtsen presented his reasons for rezoning and the use to which the property would be subjected. An opportunity was given at which a number of parties came forward to state their views on the requested rezoning of the property and a number of people in attendance signed their names as protestants to the requested rezoning. The board of supervisors then announced that the matter would be taken under advisement by them.

12. At a regularly scheduled meeting of the Upper Merion Planning Commission held on June 22, 1960, a majority thereof being present as evidenced by transcript of commissioner’s minutes, the application to rezone the property in question was reviewed and considered by the planning commission, which recommended to the board of supervisors that the application to rezone be refused.

13. A public meeting of the board of supervisors was held on June 23, 1960. There was no notice given that the board of supervisors intended, at that meeting, to enact ordinance no. 86 which changed the zoning on the ground in question from “R-2” to “R-3” residential. The meeting of the board of supervisors was adjourned at 8:40 p.m. One of the supervisors then remembered that the ordinance had not been acted on and the meet[248]*248ing was reconvened at 8:55 p.m. At the meeting, as reconvened, ordinance no. 86 was voted on and passed.

Discussion

Plaintiffs assigned a number of reasons in support of their contention that the ordinance is illegal and void. They are as follows:

1. That Kjell Ingebrigtsen, the party who filed the application for the zoning change, was not a resident or property owner in Upper Merion Township when the application was filed nor when the ordinance was enacted.

2. That the board of supervisors did not, by resolution adopted at a stated or special meeting, fix the time and place for a public hearing on the proposed zoning changes, as required by section 2101 of the Upper Merion Township Zoning Ordinance of 1942, as amended.

3. That at the public meeting held on April 28,1960, to act upon the application, the board of supervisors did not give all parties in interest an opportunity to be heard.

4. That at the meeting of April 28,1960, which was advertised as the meeting to consider the application for rezoning, the board of supervisors adjourned without taking action on the application, and then approved the application at the meeting of June 23,1960.

5. That the ordinance was not properly enacted, since the proposed ordinance was not published at least one week and not more than three weeks prior to its enactment.

6. That a date was not set, and, if set, was not advertised for the adoption of ordinance no. 86.

7. That the board of supervisors took action on the application without a final report from the planning commission and refused to abide by the recommendation that was made by the planning commission.

[249]*2498. That the meeting of June 23, 1960, was secret, in that the meeting reconvened after having been adjourned for the evening, with the result that only those favoring enactment were heard at the reconvened meeting and at that time the ordinance was enacted.

9. That all notices were insufficient and untimely.

10.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Mount Lebanon Township Appeal
89 A.2d 493 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1952)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
26 Pa. D. & C.2d 243, 1961 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 102, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kershaw-v-upper-merion-township-paqtrsessmontgo-1961.