Township of Derry v. Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry

940 A.2d 1265, 2008 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 29
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 23, 2008
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 940 A.2d 1265 (Township of Derry v. Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry) 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
Township of Derry v. Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, 940 A.2d 1265, 2008 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 29 (Pa. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

OPINION BY

Judge McGINLEY.

Presently before this Court is the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry’s (L & I), The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center’s (Medical Center), and Pennsylvania State University’s (PSU) (collectively, the Respondents) preliminary objection in the nature of a demurrer to the Township of Derry’s (Derry) .Petition for Review brought in this Court’s original jurisdiction.1

This dispute arose as a result of construction on the Medical Center campus initiated by the Medical Center under the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act (PCCA).2 The campus is located in Derry Township and owned in part by the Medical Center and by PSU. In Derry I, the facts were summarized as follows:

In 1999, the General Assembly enacted the PCCA. Except for certain limited exceptions, the PCCA applies to the construction, alteration, repair, and occupancy of all buildings in the Commonwealth. 35 P.S. § 7210.104(a). One of the provisions contained in the PCCA provides, “[t]he department shall maintain plan and specification review and inspection authority over all State-owned buildings. State-owned buildings shall be subject to the regulations promulgated under this act. The department shall notify municipalities of all inspections of State-owned buildings and give municipalities the opportunity to observe the department inspections of such buildings.” 35 P.S. § 7210.105(b)(1).
The PCCA also provided for the adoption of a Uniform Construction Code (UCC) and directed the Department to promulgate regulations adopting the 1999 Building Officials and Code Administrators International, Inc. (BOCA) code as the UCC. In 2004, the Department adopted the UCC, which includes a regulation that defines “State-owned building” as “a building owned by or to be constructed for Commonwealth entities consisting of the General Assembly, the Unified Judicial System, the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, an executive agency, independent agency, and a State affiliated entity or State related institution as defined in 62 Pa.C.S. § 103 (relating to definitions).” 34 Pa.Code § 401.1. Under 62 [1267]*1267Pa.C.S. § 103, “State-related institutions” are “The Pennsylvania State University, the University of Pittsburgh, Lincoln University or Temple University.”
The Township’s zoning ordinance provides for the issuance of building permits and certificates of occupancy for buildings within the Township. Under the zoning ordinance, the Township zoning officer examines all applications for building permits and land use. The officer determines whether the proposed activity conforms to the zoning ordinance before issuing building permits and/or certificates of occupancy. The Township zoning ordinance also states that no building permit shall be issued until the associated fees are paid to the Township.
The Medical Center operates a significant portion of its health care system on a campus located in Township, which is owned by the Medical Center and PSU. The Medical Center is a subsidiary or affiliate of PSU. The Medical Center campus is a substantial facility on large tracts of real estate. The campus includes multiple improvements, such as an acute care hospital, parking areas, and buildings housing various physician practices and other functions. PSU’s College of Medicine conducts certain operations on the Medical Center’s campus, but Petitioner (Derry) does not believe that PSU operates the health care system, which includes the acute care hospital.
The Township has a zoning ordinance that provides for the issuance of building permits and certificates of occupancy for buildings within the Township. Under the zoning ordinance, the Township zoning officer examines all applications for building permits and land use, determines whether the proposed activity conforms to the zoning ordinance, and after inspecting the use or structure, issues building permits and/or certificates of occupancy. The zoning ordinance also provides that no building permit shall be issued until the associated fees are paid to the Township.
During the last several decades, the Medical Center has undertaken various construction and renovation projects, which were subject to the Township’s review, permitting, and approval process. Prior to the PCCA’s enactment, both PSU and the Medical Center submitted applications for building permits to the Township. Since 2004, neither the Medical Center nor PSU has sought the Township’s approval for the construction of any buildings or issuance of any permits.
On March 23, 2004, the Medical Center submitted an Application for Plan Examination and Building Permit to the Township in connection with the proposed renovation and upgrading of the pharmacology lab located in the Medical Center Science & Education Building. Although the Township reviewed the plans and prepared a building permit, the Medical Center did not pay the Township the permit fee or pick up the building permit. The Medical Center proceeded with the pharmacology lab renovation without obtaining or paying for a building permit from the Township. The Township asserts, “[u]pon information and belief, the Department approved the plans, issued the building permit, and conducted inspections for the pharmacology lab renovations project based upon the provision of PCCA, which provides the Department shall have plan review and inspection authority over ‘state-owned buildings,’ 35 P.S. § 7210.105(b)(1), and based upon the Department’s own over inclusive definition of ‘state-owned building.’ 34 Pa. Code § 401.1.” Petition for Review, ¶32. The Township also asserts that [1268]*1268the Department did not provide the Township with notice of the construction inspections as provided by 35 P.S. § 7210.105(b)(1).
On February 7, 2006, the Medical Center filed a Revised Preliminary/Final Land Development and Lot Consolidation Plan with the Township, which indicated that the Medical Center planned to build a facility called “The Cancer Institute” in the Township. The Township approved the plan, but the Medical Center has not sought the Township’s approval of construction plans or the issuance of a building permit. The Township asserts, “[u]pon information and belief, Hershey Medical Center has sought the Department’s approval of the construction plans for the Cancer Institute or for one or more proposed construction projects on the basis of the Department’s over inclusive definition of ‘state-owned building.’” Petition for Review, ¶ 40.

Derry I, at 2-4. In the present action, Derry II, Derry contends that the demurrer should be denied because Derry has asserted a legally sufficient cause of action.

When reviewing preliminary objections, this Court must treat as true all well-pleaded material and relevant facts together with all reasonable inferences that may be drawn therefrom. Mellon Bank v. Fabinyi, 437 Pa.Super. 559, 650 A.2d 895, 899 (1994). Preliminary objections that assert a pleading is legally insufficient may only be sustained where “it appears with certainty that the law permits no recovery under the allegations pleaded.” Green v. Mizner, 692 A.2d 169, 172 (Pa.Super.1997) (internal citations omitted).

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Bluebook (online)
940 A.2d 1265, 2008 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 29, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/township-of-derry-v-pennsylvania-department-of-labor-industry-pacommwct-2008.