|
City of Hope v. Sadsbury Twp. Zoning Hearing Board,
2005 WL 3662591 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2006)
A church purchased a twenty-four acre parcel to establish a worship center. As part of its program, among other things, the church wanted to provide camping facilities and hiking trails. The zoning for the property allowed churches by right, but campgrounds were allowed by conditional use only. Although the property had previously been used as a campground, the prior campground operator abandoned the use when it sold the property to a manufactured home community developer (which never materialized).
Rather than applying for a conditional use permit to operate a campground, the church submitted an application to the zoning hearing board requesting permission to operate the campground as an accessory use to a worship facility. The zoning hearing board rejected the application. The trial court affirmed, finding that camping and hiking facilities are not accessory uses to worship centers.
On appeal, the Commonwealth Court concluded that the campground, in this case, was not a "subordinate" use. Rather, the Court opined, the campground constituted a primary use of the property, not an accessory use. In addition, because the tribunals below had not identified where and to what extent the hiking trails were going to be built on the property, it reversed the lower court's finding that the hiking trails were not a valid accessory use. The court remanded for further fact finding whether the proposed hiking trails constituted a valid accessory use.
DISCLAIMER:
This site is designed to provide summary review of selected Pennsylvania and Federal Court decisions related to land use and land use controls. The information contained herein, although produced by professionals, is not intended to render any legal service. Nor should the materials herein be utilized as a substitute for professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the service of an attorney or other professional should be sought. DCED makes no representations, warranties or guarantees as to the accuracy, completeness or suitability of the information provided herein.
Back to Top |
