Plumstead Township v. Department of Transportation

643 A.2d 786, 164 Pa. Commw. 514, 1994 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 288
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJune 3, 1994
StatusPublished

This text of 643 A.2d 786 (Plumstead Township v. Department of Transportation) 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
Plumstead Township v. Department of Transportation, 643 A.2d 786, 164 Pa. Commw. 514, 1994 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 288 (Pa. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

NARICK, Senior Judge.

Plumstead Township appeals from the order of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (DOT) that dismissed the Township’s exception to DOT’s final report granting Miller & Son Paving, Inc. (Miller) a highway occupancy permit. We affirm.

On April 24, 1990, DOT issued highway occupancy permit No. 06006660 (first permit) to Miller for a low-volume driveway to serve Miller’s proposed quarry, bituminous concrete plant and ready-mix concrete facility located in the Township. The proposed driveway is located on Point Pleasant Pike, west of its intersection with Pennsylvania Route 413 (intersection).

There were two conditions attached to the first permit: 1) that the radius of the intersection of Route 413 and Point Pleasant Pike (southwest side) must be improved to accommodate the truck turning movement; and 2) that a traffic signal must be installed at the same intersection.

On May 23, 1990, the Township appealed DOT’s issuance of the first permit. Hearing Officer Spencer A. Manthorpe recommended rescinding the permit insofar as the construction of the driveway deviated from DOT’s regulation applicable to low-volume driveways. DOT’s rescission of the first permit made no reference to the conditions originally attached to the permit.

In 1990, independent of Miller’s efforts to secure a highway occupancy permit, the Township applied for a permit to construct a traffic signal at the intersection. DOT issued the traffic signal permit to the Township. The Township then designed and installed [788]*788the traffic signal. After the Township had obtained the traffic signal permit, Miller offered to design and install the enlarged radius required by the first permit at its sole cost and expense. The Township rejected this offer.

After DOT rescinded the first permit, Miller redesigned the driveway to meet DOT’s regulations for low-volume driveways and requested a second highway occupancy permit (second permit). On April 18, 1992, DOT issued the second permit, No. 06011094 to Miller for its driveway. Again, two conditions were attached to the permit which were almost identical to those attached to the first. Miller, however, informed DOT that the traffic signal required by one of the conditions had already been installed by the Township. DOT issued supplemental highway occupancy permit No. 30864 to Miller which amended the second permit by deleting the traffic signal condition. Thus, the only remaining condition to the second permit was the southwest turning radius to be enlarged to accommodate trucks turning at the intersection.

The Township appealed the issuance of the second permit. On October 21, 1991, Hearing Officer Manthorpe conducted a second hearing at which time the transcript of the original hearing on the first permit was admitted into evidence in its entirety. Hearing Officer Manthorpe also accepted additional evidence at that time. The parties agreed that the design of the proposed driveway met all DOT regulations and that the only issue before Hearing Officer Manthorpe- was the one remaining condition on the second permit, i.e., enlargement of the southwest radius of the intersection.

Engineer Nelson Shaffer testified at the first hearing, the. transcript of which was introduced at the second hearing, to the effect that a sufficient right-of-way existed at the intersection to construct a turning radius which would permit trucks to turn right from eastbound Point Pleasant Pike to southbound Route 413 without encroaching on the oncoming lane. Shaffer also testified that neither a left-turn lane from northbound Route 413 onto westbound Point Pleasant Pike nor a right-turn lane from eastbound Point Pleasant Pike onto southbound Route 413 were necessary for the intersection to operate safely.

At the second hearing, Shaffer further testified to the results of a traffic count he conducted three days before the second hearing when the traffic signal was operational. The results of the count show that there was no significant change in traffic volume at the intersection from 1988, when the original traffic counts were taken to 1991. Shaffer also testified that the results of the 1991 count demonstrated that the growth projected factor of 3% per year, utilized by Miller to account for future traffic growth in designing the driveway, anticipated additional traffic growth. Following this hearing the hearing officer issued a proposed report affirming the issuance of the second permit. The Township filed exceptions to the proposed report which were denied by the Secretary of Transportation, thus making the proposed report final.

On appeal to this Court,1 the Township argues that: 1) that DOT’s findings that Miller’s improvements were adequate for the intersection are not supported by substantial evidence;2 and 2) that the issuance of the second permit was premature and void.

The Township first argues that the issuance of the second permit should not have relied on testimony elicited at the first hearing because the traffic count prepared in 1988 was outdated. The Township cites to various parts of the record wherein it believes the testimony supports requiring Miller to provide for additional improvements to the intersection.

When the court reviews the validity of an agency’s interpretation of its own regulation, that interpretation controls unless er[789]*789roneous or inconsistent with the regulation, or inconsistent with the statute under which the agency promulgated the regulation. Popple v. Commonwealth, 133 Pa.Commonwealth Ct. 375, 575 A.2d 973 (1990). A review of both the applicable statute and regulation in conjunction with the evidence before DOT demonstrates that DOT’s issuance of the second permit was a reasonable exercise of its regulatory power under the statute. Id.

DOT derives its regulatory authority under Section 420(a) of the State Highway Law,3 which states, in pertinent part:

[T]he secretary is empowered to make reasonable rules and regulations governing the use of all State highways, and, by the placement of official traffic control devices, or curbs, medians or other physical barriers, may control the flow of traffic thereon.

Furthermore, Section 420(b), 36 P.S. § 670-420(b), provides the secretary with the authority to issue permits for the opening of driveways onto State highways subject to terms and conditions provided in DOT’s regulations.

The applicable regulation is found at 67 Pa.Code § 441.6(4)(i), which states, in pertinent part:

(4) Permittee Responsibilities. Permittee responsibility shall be as follows: (i) the permittee shall pay all fees, costs, and expenses incident to or arising from the project, including the cost of related highway improvements which increase traffic ... may necessitate.

Because the Township had already installed a traffic signal the only condition remaining was the improvement to the intersection. The Township, however, maintains that the proposed expansion of the turning radius is inadequate. However, notwithstanding the Township’s assertions, we cannot hold that DOT lacked substantial evidence to issue Miller’s second permit.

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

Related

Nardo v. Commonwealth
552 A.2d 718 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1988)
Popple v. Commonwealth
575 A.2d 973 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1990)
Kviatkovsky v. Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission
618 A.2d 1209 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1992)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
643 A.2d 786, 164 Pa. Commw. 514, 1994 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 288, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/plumstead-township-v-department-of-transportation-pacommwct-1994.