Appeal of Bilotta (State Report Title: Bilotta v. Haverford Tp. Zoning Bd. of Adjustment)
| Decision Date | 09 October 1970 |
| Citation | 440 Pa. 105,270 A.2d 619 |
| Parties | Appeal of Russell J. BILOTTA and Michael Rosso from the Decision of the Board of Adjustment of the Township of Haverford, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Appeal of the TOWNSHIP OF HAVERFORD, Intervening Defendant. |
| Court | Pennsylvania Supreme Court |
Domenic D. Jerome, Media, James A. McGoldrick, Upper Darby, for appellant.
Donald J. Orlowsky, ReDavid, Orlowsky, Natale & Anderman, Media, for appellees, Russell J. Bilotta and Michael Rosso.
Before BELL, C.J., and JONES, COHEN, EAGEN O'BRIEN, ROBERTS and POMEROY, JJ.
On December 1, 1966, Russell Bilotta purchased three acres of ground in Haverford Township, with the knowledge that this lot and those surrounding it were all zoned C-Residential, permitting only single-family dwellings. At the time of purchase, his property contained one large dwelling house, plus a barn and a stable. All three buildings were in fair condition and Bilotta allegedly intended to remodel the house and use it as a residence. He presently desires to construct garden apartments on the lot, and, on May 29, 1968, he applied for a building permit. The application was denied since the 'C' zoning classification does not permit the construction of apartments.
Bilotta applied to the Board of Adjustment of Haverford Township for a variance to permit the apartment construction, but his application was refused on July 25, 1968. On August 15, 1968, Bilotta appealed to the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County and, at a hearing on March 28, 1969, additional testimony was presented by both sides, including a petition with the signatures of 777 neighbors who opposed the variance. The lower court reversed the decision of the Board and granted the variance. This appeal followed.
In order to establish his right to a variance, an applicant must prove that the present zoning burdens his property with an unnecessary hardship, unique to his particular property, and that the variance would not adversely affect the public health, safety or welfare. See: O'Neill v. Zoning Bd. of Adjust., 434 Pa. 331, 254 A.2d 12 (1969). The Only evidence of hardship which Bilotta offered dealt with whether it would be Profitable to build single-family dwellings on this tract. Specifically, his expert witness testified: (1) that the tract could be divided into only fifteen lots; (2) that these houses would then have to sell for at least $37,000 each, in order to make a profit; and (3) that the market would not support new homes selling for more than $22,000. The expert witness for Haverford Township vigorously disputed all three of...
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Kneebone v. Zoning Hearing Bd. of the Twp. of Plainfield
...although Homeowners bore the burden of proof before the Board with regard to the prerequisites for a variance, see Appeal of Bilotta , 440 Pa. 105, 270 A.2d 619, 620 (1970), at the appellate level we review the record in the light most favorable to Homeowners, as the prevailing party before......
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Kneebone v. Zoning Hearing Bd. of the Township of Plainfield
...although Homeowners bore the burden of proof before the Board with regard to the prerequisites for a variance, see Appeal of Bilotta, 440 Pa. 105, 270 A.2d 619, 620 (1970), at the appellate level we review the record in the light most favorable to Homeowners, as the prevailing party before ......
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Wilson v. Plumstead Tp. Zoning Hearing Bd.
...arising from the impact of zoning regulations on an entire district." Valley View, 462 A.2d at 640. See also Bilotta v. Twp. of Haverford, 440 Pa. 105, 270 A.2d 619, 620 (1970). Wilson admitted that someone else might be able to operate a home occupation from his property even though he did......
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Kneebone v. Zoning Hearing Bd. of the Twp. of Plainfield
... ... AND PATRICK LUTZ AND PAMELA LUTZ APPEAL OF: PATRICK LUTZ AND PAMELA LUTZ No. 52 MAP 2021 ... Ass'n v. Zoning Bd. of Adjustment , 462 A.2d 637, 640 ... (Pa. 1983)) ... for a variance, see Appeal of Bilotta , ... 270 A.2d 619, 620 (Pa. 1970), at the ... exercise of the state's police powers in the form of ... land-use ... ...