Hazleton Area School Dist. v. Zoning Hearing Bd.

• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: CASTILLE, Justice.
• Citation: Hazleton Area School Dist. v. Zoning Hearing Bd., 566 Pa. 180, 778 A.2d 1205 (Pa. 2001)
• Decision Date: 22 August 2001
• Parties: HAZLETON AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT, Appellant, v. ZONING HEARING BOARD of Hazle Township, Appellee.

778 A.2d 1205

566 Pa. 180

HAZLETON AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT, Appellant, v. ZONING HEARING BOARD of Hazle Township, Appellee.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Submitted January 31, 2000.

Decided August 22, 2001.

Edward P. McNelis, Hazelton, for Hazelton Area School District.

Charles R. Pedri, Laputka and Pedri, Hazelton, for Hazel Township and Frank J. Skokoski, Jr., for Zoning Hearing Board of Hazel Tp.

Before FLAHERTY, C.J., and ZAPPALA, CAPPY, CASTILLE, NIGRO, NEWMAN, SAYLOR, JJ.

OPINION

CASTILLE, Justice.

This Court granted allocatur to consider: (1) whether the authority granted to a school district under the Public School Code to allow its facilities to be used for non-school-related activities preempts the powers to provide for the health, safety and general welfare of the community granted to a local zoning hearing board under the Municipalities Planning Code; and (2) whether the zoning board's use restrictions are merely recommendations, not binding upon the school district.

Appellant Hazelton Area School District ("School District") is a second class school district located within Hazel Township, Luzerne County. On February 12, 1990, appellee Zoning Hearing Board of Hazel Township ("Board") granted a special exception to the School District for the construction of a senior high school in an area zoned residential. On February 15, 1993, the Board granted variances and accessory uses for the construction of adjacent athletic fields and tennis courts. In granting the variances, the Board placed certain restrictions on the design of the fields to minimize their impact on the surrounding area, including requiring that no exterior lighting be installed, trees be planted to screen a neighboring property, no lavatory facilities be built, no dugouts and scoreboards be constructed on the ball fields, and the fields not be utilized for football practice.

On April 4, 1994, the School District submitted an application to the Board seeking a waiver of some of the restrictions in the February 15, 1993 variance order. Specifically, the School District sought to add certain amenities to its baseball field, including dugouts, water fountains, a scoreboard and a backstop. At a hearing, neighbors expressed concern with the proposal. In response to these concerns, a School District official stated that the baseball field would only be used for school-related purposes. The Board granted the request on April 25, 1994, but limited the use of the baseball field to team practice and interscholastic competition. The order stated: "Upon approved completion of the aforementioned structures and dimensions, it is understood that the baseball field can then be used for practice and interscholastic competition."¹

Almost two years later, on April 10, 1996, the School District submitted another application to the Board requesting that the April 25, 1994 variance be amended and modified to allow the School District to permit its fields to be used for non-school-related baseball games. The proposal would allow the School Board to rent the field to an unspecified number of organizations for baseball games and practices that could start in the afternoon and continue until dark.² Again, certain of the neighbors raised concerns with the proposal. After a public hearing, the Board denied the request. The Board specifically found that residential structures and properties adjacent to the athletic field would be adversely affected by the proposed expanded use. The Board also noted that the School District had failed to submit guidelines to the Board concerning the management of traffic levels, availability of parking spaces and bathroom facilities, and provision of security services at the field.

The School District appealed to the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County, maintaining that the Board's decision was arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion and that the decision improperly preempted the School District's statutory authority to manage its properties pursuant to the School Code, 24 P.S. § 7-101 et seq. The School District also claimed that the Board's decision should be deemed merely advisory and not binding on it. The Court of Common Pleas affirmed the order of the Board.

The School District thereafter filed a timely appeal in the Commonwealth Court, which affirmed, reasoning that the legislative powers exclusively vested in the School District were those necessary to meet its educational duties. 720 A.2d 220, 225 (Pa.Cmwlth.1998). Because purely non-school-related activities were involved in the School District's application, complying with the Board's limitations did not interfere with the School District's vested educational responsibilities.³ Relying on its decision in Skepton v. Borough of Northampton, 87 Pa.Cmwlth. 24, 486 A.2d 1022 (1985), the court further noted that, "[b]ecause the School Code has no specific preemptive mandate allowing the use of school property for non-school-related activities, such unrestricted use of school property by [the School District] would frustrate the Township's zoning scheme designed to promote and protect the health, safety and welfare of Township residents." 720 A.2d at 225.

On appeal from the Commonwealth Court's decision, the School District relies upon § 7-775 of the Public School Code, which provides, in pertinent part, that:

The board of school directors of any district may permit the use of its school grounds and buildings for social, recreation, and other proper purposes, under such rules and regulations as the board may adopt. The board shall make such arrangements with any city, borough, or township authorities for the improvement, care, protection, and maintenance of school buildings and grounds for school, park, play, or other recreation purposes, as it may see proper. Any board of school directors may make such arrangements as it may see proper with any officials or individuals for the temporary use of school property for schools, playgrounds, social, recreation, or other proper educational purposes, primaries and elections, and may permit the use of any school building for holding official meetings of the governing authorities of corporate or politic[al], governmental or quasi-governmental bodies, created by authority of any act of Assembly. The use thereof shall not interfere with school programs and shall be subject to reasonable rules and regulations adopted by the board of school directors.

The board of public education or the board of school directors of any school district shall have power and authority to lease any of their respective school buildings or athletic fields to any reputable organization or group of persons for charitable purposes, subject to such charges as the board shall consider proper to reimburse it for any costs resulting from the leasing of such school buildings or athletic fields....

24 Pa.C.S. § 7-775. The School District argues that § 7-775 specifically authorizes it to permit its fields to be used for non-school-related activities and that the legislative grant is "preeminent" as against any conflicting legislation. The School District maintains that the statute, on its face, reveals a legislative intention that it is the School District alone which may decide how its facilities are to be used; thus, the School District asserts that this statute preempts any conflicting local zoning ordinance which attempts to restrict the School District's power. The School District likens its power regarding use of its facilities to its power to determine the location of school buildings—a power which, it argues, this Court has recognized cannot be limited by local zoning or land use restrictions. See, e.g., School Dist. of Philadelphia v. Zoning Bd. of Adjustment, 417 Pa. 277, 207 A.2d 864 (1965); 24 P.S. § 7-702.

In the alternative, the School District argues that, even if § 7-775 is not deemed to explicitly preempt local zoning restrictions, the statute at a minimum constitutes specific legislation and thus prevails over the Board's conflicting general statutory powers.⁴ See Appeal of Pemberton, 434 Pa. 249, 252 A.2d 597 (1969).

The Board counters that § 7-775 provides no explicit mandate preempting the zoning ordinance and, accordingly, the powers of the Board to provide for the health, safety and general welfare of the community are not preempted here. The Board further argues that § 5-551(a) and (c) of the School Code provide that the School District is only free to regulate school property with regard to school-related activities and, because the requested use is unrelated to school activities, there is no preemption of the Board's authority.⁵ Accordingly, the Board retains its power, conferred under the Municipalities Planning Code, to regulate land use.⁶ Because this appeal presents a question of statutory interpretation regarding two allegedly conflicting statutes, our standard of review is plenary. See Commonwealth v. Baker, 547 Pa. 214, 690 A.2d 164 (1997).

In Commonwealth, Dep't of Gen. Serv. v. Ogontz Area Neighbors Ass'n, 505 Pa. 614, 483 A.2d 448 (1984), this Court noted that statutes governing different state-created instrumentalities present a potential conflict that:

is not a contest between superior and inferior governmental entities, but instead a contest between two instrumentalities of the state. The legislature has the power to regulate both of these governmental entities, enlarging or restricting their authority to act; and, generally, the task of courts in these cases is to determine, through an examination of the enabling statutes applicable to each of the governmental entities, which the legislature intended to have preeminent powers. The problem, essentially, is one of statutory interpretation.

Id. at 622-23, 483 A.2d at 452 (citation omitted). The Court employed a two-step process for analyzing conflicting statutes. The first step requires the reviewing court to determine, through examination of the...