Broussard v. Zon. Bd. of Adj. of Pittsburgh
| Decision Date | 04 October 2006 |
| Citation | 907 A.2d 494 |
| Parties | Elsie R. BROUSSARD, M.D. v. ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT OF the CITY OF PITTSBURGH The Twentieth Century Club, City of Pittsburgh, MedCano Corporation, Schenley Farms Civic Association, Gregory Snow, Patricia M. Moore, Jack L. Paradise, Mary Paradise, H. Richard Howland, Veronica Wojnaroski, Andrew McSwigan, Melissa McSwigan, Carol Kowall, and Mary A. McDonough, Intervenors Appeal of Schenley Farms Civic Association, Gregory Snow, Patricia M. Moore, Jack L. Paradise, Mary Paradise, H. Richard Howland, Veronica Wojnaroski, Andrew McSwigan, Melissa McSwigan, Carol Kowall, and Mary A. McDonough. |
| Court | Pennsylvania Supreme Court |
Gregory Elisha Snow, Carol Ann Kowall, Pittsburgh, for Schenley Farms Civic Association, et al.
George R. Specter, Pittsburgh, for Zoning Bd. of Adjustment of City of Pittsburgh.
Edward C. Leckey, Pittsburgh, for The Twentieth Century Club.
Frank Kosir, Jr., Andrea Geraghty, Pittsburgh, for MedCano Corp.
BEFORE: CAPPY, C.J., CASTILLE, NIGRO, NEWMAN, SAYLOR, EAKIN and BAER, JJ.
The issue in this land-use dispute is whether, and under what circumstances, an application for a special exception may be granted conditioned upon the applicant's later compliance with the express requirements for the special exception under the zoning ordinance.
Appellee, the MedCano Corporation ("MedCano"), owns a two-story building that formerly housed the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania (the "Society"). The building — which is bounded by properties owned by Appellants Elsie Broussard, M.D., the Twentieth Century Club, and residents of Schenley Farms (represented here by their Civic Association) — is located at 4338 Bigelow Boulevard, in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh. It is a two-story structure with a full basement, the entrance to which is at street level from Bigelow Boulevard. Each floor consists of a large, center open area with small reception areas in the front, and narrow passageways along the sides.
After offering the building for sale for approximately nine years, the Society ultimately arranged to sell it to MedCano and, in anticipation of the sale, submitted proposed changes to the property to the Oakland Planning Commission. This proposal, called an Interim Planning Overlay District ("IPOD") Plan, was required by the Pittsburgh Zoning Code (the "Zoning Code"),2 and included: a small, on-site parking plaza consisting of three parking spaces; a pick-up and drop-off circular driveway; and a renovation to include meeting spaces on the first floor and medical offices on the remaining floors. The Historic Review Commission approved the plan, as did the Planning Commission. Thereafter, the property was sold to MedCano in July 1999.
In November 2000, MedCano filed an Application for Occupancy/Building Permit with Pittsburgh's zoning administrator, to utilize the property as a video conference center, a banquet hall for weddings, and rooms for the presentation of recitals and other musical productions. As there was insufficient on-site parking for these uses, MedCano sought a special exception pursuant to Section 914.07.G.2 of the Zoning Code, pertaining to off-site parking, see infra. The zoning administrator responded by scheduling a hearing on the matter before the Zoning Board of Adjustment of the City of Pittsburgh (the "Zoning Board").3
Before the Zoning Board, MedCano sought to avail itself of the special exception for off-site parking governed by Section 914.07.G.2 of the Zoning Code, which provides, in relevant part:
The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be authorized . . . to consider and approve any alternative to providing off-street parking spaces on the site of the subject development if the applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Zoning Board of Adjustment that the proposed plan will result in a better situation with respect to surrounding neighborhoods, citywide traffic circulation and urban design than would strict compliance with otherwise applicable off-street parking standards.
(a) Off-Site Parking. The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be authorized . . . to permit all or a portion of the required off-street parking spaces to be located on a remote and separate lot from the lot on which the primary use is located, subject to the following standards.
(1) Location. No off-site parking space shall be located more than 1,000 feet from the primary entrance of the use served, measured along the shortest legal, practical walking route. This distance limitation may be waived by the Zoning Board of Adjustment if adequate assurances are offered that van or shuttle services will be operated between the shared lot and the primary use.
* * *
(4) Off-Site Parking Agreement. In the event that an off-site parking area is not under the same ownership as the primary use served, a written agreement among the owners of record shall be required. An attested copy of the agreement between the owners of record shall be submitted to County Recorder's Office for recordation. . . . Proof of recordation of the agreement shall be presented to the Zoning Administrator prior to the issuance of a building permit. . . .
At the hearings, MedCano presented the above-referenced IPOD Plan, as well as a Parking Demand Analysis Study, a Parking Management Plan, the testimony of a parking consultant, and a letter from Plaza Parking Services, Inc., the lessee-operator of the nearby Sterling Plaza Garage, confirming that it had sufficient parking spaces available during peak hours and that it would make those spaces available to MedCano patrons.4 MedCano also offered evidence that it would provide valet or shuttle services to its patrons who decided to park at the Sterling Plaza Garage.
On October 5, 2001, the Zoning Board issued its decision in which it granted the special exception for off-site parking, conditioned upon MedCano's future compliance with certain conditions. The Zoning Board stated, in particular, that the
[s]pecial exception for off-site parking for the property at 4338 Bigelow Boulevard under Code § 914.07.G is GRANTED subject to the FOLLOWING CONDITIONS:
. . . The requested building/occupancy permit should not be issued unless and until:
(a) A written and legally binding van or shuttle service agreement with a third party is submitted to and approved by the Administrator or written evidence of the acquisition of a van by [MedCano] is so submitted and approved; and
(b) Section [914.07.G.2(a)(4)] is fully complied with.
Decision of Pittsburgh Zoning Board of Adjustment, Zone Case No. 165 of 2001, at 8.5
Dr. Broussard appealed the Zoning Board's decision to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, and the remainder of the appellants intervened. The trial court decided the appeal without taking any additional evidence. The court issued an opinion stating that, although the off-site parking agreement introduced by MedCano "technically" failed to comply with Section 914.07.G.2(a)(4) of the Zoning Code, the Zoning Board had acted appropriately by conditioning the grant of the special exception upon MedCano's subsequent compliance with that section's mandates relative to off-site parking. Hence, by order dated May 23, 2002, the trial court affirmed the Zoning Board's decision and denied the appeals.
A divided, three-judge panel of the Commonwealth Court affirmed in a published opinion. See Broussard v. Zoning Bd. of Adjustment of City of Pittsburgh, 831 A.2d 764 (Pa.Cmwlth.2003). The majority explained that the Zoning Code sets forth a two-step approval process for an off-site parking agreement: first, a written agreement among the owners of record must be obtained, and second, proof of the recordation of that agreement must be presented to the zoning administrator prior to the issuance of a building permit. The majority noted that the ordinance does not specify exactly when the written agreement is required in the special application process, and concluded, in this regard, that the Zoning Board had reasonably interpreted its own ordinance as not requiring the recordable form of the agreement to be included with the application for the special exception; rather, it may be submitted and filed at the building-permit stage of the project. In reaching this conclusion, the majority recognized that courts generally defer to a zoning board's interpretation of the ordinance it is charged to enforce. See id. at 770 (citing In re Brickstone Realty Corp., 789 A.2d 333, 339 (Pa. Cmwlth.2001)). The court thus held that the absence of a recordable document at the hearing before the Zoning Board did not bar the grant of the special exception in light of the letter presented by MedCano from the operator of the Sterling Plaza Garage. See id.
Senior Judge Flaherty dissented, noting that Section 914.07.G.2(a)(4) of the Zoning Code authorizes a special exception for off-site parking only after the applicant produces a "written agreement among the owners of record." He observed that, under the language of the ordinance, an attested copy of the agreement must then be submitted to the County Recorder for recordation and, in turn, proof of recordation presented to the zoning administrator before issuance of a building permit. He opined that, because MedCano had no off-site parking agreement at the time of its application to the Zoning Board, the board should not have granted the special exception. In addition, he stated that such result was required under the reasoning of several earlier decisions of the Commonwealth Court. See id. at 773-75 (Flaherty, S.J., dissenting) ().
On April 6, 2004, ...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Slice of Life, LLC v. Hamilton Twp. Zoning Hearing Bd.
...hearing board is entitled in the interpretation of its municipality's zoning ordinances. See Broussard v. Zoning Bd. of Adjustment of City of Pittsburgh , 589 Pa. 71, 907 A.2d 494, 500 (2006) ("courts ordinarily grant deference to the zoning board's understanding of its own ordinance becaus......
-
Pascal v. City of Pittsburgh Zoning Bd. of Adjustment
...282, 450 A.2d 1086, 1091 (1982) (emphasis in original)).8 Maj. Op. at 381.9 Id.10 Id.11 Broussard v. Zoning Bd. of Adjustment of City of Pittsburgh , 589 Pa. 71, 907 A.2d 494, 500 (2006).12 Relosky v. Sacco , 514 Pa. 339, 523 A.2d 1112, 1116 (1987) ; accord 1 Pa.C.S. § 1921(b) ("When the wo......
-
Delchester Developers, L.P. v. Zoning Hearing Bd. of the Twp. of London Grove
...a board's interpretation of its own ordinance is entitled to great weight and deference. Broussard v. Zoning Board of Adjustment of City of Pittsburgh , 589 Pa. 71, 907 A.2d 494, 500 (2006) ; Kohl v. New Sewickley Township Zoning Hearing Board , 108 A.3d 961, 968 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2015).While De......
-
S. Allegheny Pittsburgh Rest. Enters., LLC v. City of Pittsburgh, Civil Action No. 16-1393
...and special exemptions and evaluating the uses that are authorized on the property. Broussard v. Zoning Board of Adjustment of City of Pittsburgh, 589 Pa. 71, 81, 907 A.2d 494, 500 (Pa. 2006). The decision challenged in this case has not been presented to the Zoning Board for a final ruling......