SPTR, Inc. v. City of Philadelphia

150 A.3d 160, 2016 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 494, 2016 WL 6833074
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedNovember 21, 2016
Docket1264 C.D. 2015
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 150 A.3d 160 (SPTR, Inc. v. City of Philadelphia) 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
SPTR, Inc. v. City of Philadelphia, 150 A.3d 160, 2016 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 494, 2016 WL 6833074 (Pa. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinions

OPINION BY

JUDGE WOJCIK

City of Philadelphia (City) appeals from an order of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County (trial court) granting an emergency petition for preliminary injunction to allow the operation of a pop-up beer garden in a residential district in the City pending disposition of a use permit application. The City argues the trial court erred because the beer garden is a prohibited commercial use in a residential zone. Upon concluding reasonable grounds exist to uphold the preliminary injunction, we affirm.

I. Background

SPTR, Inc., Newbolds Brew, LLC, the American Sardine Bar, Inc., and the Point Breeze Fund, LLC (collectively, Appellees) are four commercial entities. The first three entities are licensed by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) to sell liquor. Point Breeze Fund, LLC, is a separate entity that owns a vacant lot in the City located at 1622-40 Point Breeze Avenue (Property), which is located in a residential, multi-family zone (RM-1).1

Appellees planned to operate a pop-up beer garden on the Property, which is an outdoor bar that sells beer, and food to customers on a seasonal basis. They acquired PLCB liquor licenses, off-premises catering permits, City Health Department permits, and City Department of Licenses and Inspections (L & I) permits to serve food and nonalcoholic beverages at the Property. Appellees also invested $30,000 to clear, clean and landscape the Property.

The pop-up beer garden officially opened in May 2015, The beer garden operates as a “membership party” and fundraiser for local charities. The beer garden operates' from May through September, during limited hours: Thursday from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Friday from 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., Saturday from 1:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., and Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

In June 2015, an L & I inspector inspected the beer garden and ascertained that the beer garden operated without a required zoning or use registration permit or zoning certification in violation of Title 14 of the Philadelphia Code (Zoning and Planning). On June 25, 2016, the inspector issued a “Notice of Intent to Cease Operations and Order” (Notice) informing Appel-lees that within 10 days a cease operations order would be issued unless they obtained a zoning permit. The Notice stated: “[Tjhese violations may pose a threat to the safety, health or welfare to the occupants or surrounding community and require immediate correction.” Reproduced Record (R.R.) at 49a. The Notice advised a cease operations order “can only be vacated by obtaining an immediate stay of enforcement as set out in the Administrative Code or correcting the cited violation and passing inspection” prior to the issuance of a cease operations order effective date. Id. It further directed appeal forms may be obtained from the Board of License and Inspection Review (L & I Board).

On June 29, 2015, L & I issued a final warning advising Appellees that the failure to correct the violation will require L & I to pursue additional enforcement action, including the assessment of fines in the amount of $150 to $2,000 per day. R.R. at 50a.

[164]*164On July 1, 2015, Appellees filed a zoning permit application with L & I to use the property as a beer garden, but they were informed the application had a “due date” of July 29, 2015, and would not be initially approved. Trial Court Opinion, 10/2/15, at 3. The application was subsequently denied.2

L & I then issued a cease operations order (Cease Order) directing Appellees to immediately cease all business operations and related occupancy at Property as of midnight on July 8, 2015. R.R. at 51a. Appellees attempted to appeal the Cease Order with the L & I Board, which was rejected.

Thereafter, Appellees filed a complaint in equity and an emergency petition for preliminary injunction with the trial court. Appellees alleged that the City, by issuing the Cease Order, violated their due process rights, caused them to suffer irreparable harm without an adequate remedy at law, unlawfully preempted licenses issued by the PLCB, and unlawfully commingled prosecutorial and adjudicatory functions.

The City opposed the emergency petition, but it did not file an answer to the complaint. The trial court issued a rule to show cause why the emergency petition should not be granted. After hearing evidence and arguments on the rule, the trial court granted the preliminary injunction, vacated the Cease Order, directed no further enforcement activity under the Cease Order shall occur until disposition of the zoning permit application, and required Appellees to post a bond in the amount of $500. Trial Court Order, 7/10/15.

The City then filed a notice of appeal in this Court, which automatically stayed the preliminary injunction. In response, Appel-lees filed an emergency petition for super-sedeas with the trial court, which the trial court granted, thereby allowing Appellees to continue operating their pop-up beer business on the Property during the pen-dency of the City’s appeal.

The trial court directed the City to file a statement of errors complained of on appeal pursuant to Pa. R.A.P. 1925(b), which it did. The trial court then issued an opinion in support of its order. The trial court determined the issues raised in the City’s Rule 1925(b) statement were waived for purposes of appeal because the City did not file an answer to Appellees’ complaint.3

Nevertheless, the trial court addressed the merits of the preliminary injunction. The trial court prefaced its discussion by noting there is little guidance on the procedure to acquire zoning permits for temporary uses. It also commented on the enduring and pervasive issue of vacant lots blighting the City, noting as many as 10 City agencies, including pest control, police and fire, are called upon to “upkeep” vacant lots. Trial Court Opinion, 10/2/15, at 9.

As to the merits, the trial court determined Appellees met all prerequisites for injunctive relief. Of relevance to this appeal, the trial court found that Appellees demonstrated a clear right to relief because L & I did not meet the criteria to issue the Cease Order. A cease operations order may be ordered only when a property owner engages in a use without one or [165]*165more required permits and either the missing permits are required to protect the public health or safety or the continued use creates a public nuisance. Trial Court Opinion at 10-11 (citing Section 14-306(l)(e)(.l) of the Philadelphia Code). The trial court found Appellees possessed the permits from the Health Department, PLCB and L & I, which are required to protect public'health and safety.

Significantly, the trial court found the operation of the beer garden did not create a public nuisance. The evidence presented showed that there had been no incidents requiring the police to be called to the premises. The State Police visited and found the beer garden in good standing. No threat to public safety existed. The latest the beer garden operated was until 11 p.m. on Saturday night. Local registered community organizations, including South Philadelphia Homes, supported the beer garden and benefited from its charity fundraising.

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Bluebook (online)
150 A.3d 160, 2016 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 494, 2016 WL 6833074, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sptr-inc-v-city-of-philadelphia-pacommwct-2016.