Pa. Central Realty Investment, Inc. v. Township of Middlesex

566 A.2d 931, 130 Pa. Commw. 18, 1989 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 756
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedNovember 29, 1989
DocketNos. 24 and 25 C.D. 1989
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 566 A.2d 931 (Pa. Central Realty Investment, Inc. v. Township of Middlesex) 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
Pa. Central Realty Investment, Inc. v. Township of Middlesex, 566 A.2d 931, 130 Pa. Commw. 18, 1989 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 756 (Pa. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinions

COLINS, Judge.

Pa. Central Realty Investment, Inc. (Pa. Realty) appeals from an order of the Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland County granting a preliminary injunction to the Township of Middlesex (Township) and a subsequent order issued [21]*21by the trial court directing Pa. Realty to comply with the preliminary injunction or show cause why they should not be held in contempt. The two appeals have been consolidated by this Court by order dated January 10, 1989.

On or about September 12, 1988, Richard Gomes, on behalf of Pa. Realty, applied for a building permit from the Township Zoning Officer with respect to the premises located at 2 South Middlesex Road. Pa. Realty sought to make changes and improvements to the building located thereon. In requesting the building permit, Mr. Gomes described the proposed use of the premises as being for the sale and service of video equipment and video tape rental. Prior to applying for the permit, Mr. Gomes had made a request of Middlesex Township Municipal Authority for water service at this location. In making the application for service, Mr. Gomes represented to that body that the premises were to be used for video equipment retail and repair.

When the business began operating at this location in mid-October 1988, rather than being used for the sale and repair of video equipment and the rental of video tapes, the premises were being used for the sale of sexually oriented materials, for the exhibition of sexually oriented video tapes and motion pictures and for live performances by nude females performing sexually oriented acts, including auto-eroticism, for customers’ entertainment.

The Middlesex Township Zoning Ordinance (Ordinance), in effect at the time of the application for the building permit, provided for the issuance of zoning permits, building permits and certificates of occupancy. However, at the time complained of, the Township did not as a general rule require separate zoning permits or certificates of occupancy; although, building permits were required. Section 15.-02(B)(1) of the Ordinance which governed the issuance of building permits required that an applicant state the existing and intended use of all buildings presently on or to be erected on the property and supply information necessary for determining whether the provisions of the Ordinance were being observed.

[22]*22The premises in question are located in a Commercial Highway Zoning District. Section 10.01 of the Ordinance describes this district as being designed to accommodate the needs of transient highway travelers. The use of the premises for the sale and service of video equipment and video tape rental falls within the permitted uses in this district. An adult bookstore is not listed as a permitted use nor as a special exception use in this district.

On October 28, 1988, the Township issued a “cease and desist” notice and served it upon Pa. Realty and the occupants of the premises. The business continued to operate and the Township filed a complaint in equity pursuant to Section 617 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (MPC),1 on November 7, 1988, seeking to enjoin Pa. Realty’s use of the property. The Township submitted that Pa. Realty was in violation of the Ordinance and was conducting a business for which it had not obtained a valid permit. A hearing was held on November 17, 1988 and on December 8,1988 the trial court issued an opinion and order granting the preliminary injunction. The business continued to operate despite the preliminary injunction and the trial court issued a further order directing compliance on December 12,1988. Pa. Realty has appealed both orders to this Court.

At the outset,, we must conclude that the trial court’s order of December 12, 1988 is interlocutory and unappealable. This order did not declare Pa. Realty in contempt. It directed compliance with the trial court’s order of December 8,1988 and stated that if Pa. Realty did not comply it would be made to show cause why it should not be held in contempt. This order does not constitute an adjudication of contempt and does not impose sanctions. Thus, it is an interlocutory and unappealable order. See Hester v. Bagnato, 292 Pa.Superior Ct. 322, 437 A.2d 66 (1981) (order [23]*23declaring a party to be in contempt, but which imposes no sanction, is interlocutory and unappealable). Accordingly, we quash the appeal at No. 25 C.D. 1989.

We shall now address the appeal of the order of December 8,1988,2 granting the preliminary injunction. Pa. Realty argues that the trial court erred in failing to address each element necessary in establishing the need for the preliminary injunction. We emphasize that this is an appeal from the grant of a preliminary, as opposed to a permanent injunction, and that our scope of review in this type of appeal is limited. It is not our function to inquire into the merits of the controversy; instead, we merely examine the record to ascertain whether there existed any reasonable basis for the trial court’s action. Chatham Racquet Club v. Commonwealth, 116 Pa.Commonwealth Ct. 55, 541 A.2d 51 (1988).3 The trial court’s decision will be reversed only if it is plain that no grounds exist to support the decree or that the rule of law relied upon was palpably erroneous or misapplied. Id. Although the trial court’s opinion does not discuss each element of the test for a preliminary injunction, it does conclude that the continuing violation of the Ordinance constitutes irreparable harm. The record reveals a reasonable basis for this conclusion and the trial court’s grant of the preliminary injunction.

Pa. Realty submits that the entry of the preliminary injunction was improper because Pa. Realty had obtained a valid permit which had not been revoked and which was purported to be invalid because the uses to which the premises were put deal with sexually explicit materials and entertainment. Pa. Realty submits that the injunction, therefore, violates its rights under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution4 and makes the application of the Ordinance unconstitutional.

[24]*24The trial court indicated that the Ordinance contains no blanket prohibition against businesses such as those conducted on Pa. Realty’s premises. However, it also correctly noted that in order to challenge the constitutional validity of the Ordinance, in connection with the denial or revocation of a permit, the property owned must first have sought a valid permit for the use giving rise to the constitutional challenge. Visual-Education Devices, Inc. v. Springettsbury Township, 54 Pa.Commonwealth Ct. 529, 422 A.2d 235 (1980). Pa. Realty never sought a building permit from the Township for the use of the premises for the operation of an adult book store which would include the exhibition of sexually explicit materials and live performances by nude females. The trial court found that Pa. Realty’s building permit was obtained by misrepresentation. They applied for a building permit for one kind of business and operated another. Such action clearly violates the Ordinance and the trial court correctly held that pursuant to Mager v. Hilltown Township, 6 Pa.Commonwealth Ct.

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Bluebook (online)
566 A.2d 931, 130 Pa. Commw. 18, 1989 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 756, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pa-central-realty-investment-inc-v-township-of-middlesex-pacommwct-1989.