Agenda - Planning Commission - 03/02/2017

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January 25, 2017 I Volume 11 I Issue 2 Zoning Bulletin cupancy Certificate with the Borough. The Borough's zoning officer denied River's Edge's application. The zoning officer determined that although River's Edge had indicated that the proposed use was a funeral home with ac- cessory crematory use, "[i]t appear[ed] that the crematory use [would] be the principal use at the property," which was prohibited in the LI Zoning District. River's Edge appealed to the Borough's Zoning Hearing Board (the "Board"). The Board agreed with the zoning officer's conclusions and denied River's Edge's application. The Board explained that it found that the crema- tory use would, in fact, be the primary use —which was prohibited by the Borough's zoning ordinance in the LI Zoning District. The Board based those findings on the following determinations: the location and appearance of the building —a warehouse —was "not suitable for a funeral home use and clearly indicate[d] that the [River's Edge's] intention [was] to use the subject premises primarily for cremations"; and the property had been the subject of a prior ap- peal to the Board in which the applicant was seeking to use the Property solely as a crematory. Concluding that it was "clear that the crematory [was] intended to be the primary or principal use of the [p]roperty, which [was] not permitted in an LI-Light Industrial District," the Board concluded that it had to deny River's Edge's appeal of the denial of its application for a Use and Occupancy Certificate. River's Edge again appealed. The trial court reversed the Board's decision and ordered that a Use and Occupancy Certificate be issued as requested in River's Edge's application. The trial court found that the evidence the Board had relied upon when making its determination (i.e., the property's location, appearance, and the prior application to operate a crematory), "did not constitute substantial evidence that a reasonable mind would find adequate when viewed in light of the overall record." The trial court noted that River's Edge's plot plan indicated that the building would include a chapel, a greeting area, and public restrooms in addition to the crematory and other preparation rooms. The trial court also noted that only 12% of the building's total area would be allotted to the crematory operation and that River's Edge had indicated that it would offer various services at the property, including meeting with clients, making funeral arrangements, embalming, casketing, and dressing the deceased. Moreover, the trial court concluded that River's Edge would satisfy each element necessary to be a licensed funeral home in Pennsylvania. The Borough appealed. On appeal, the Borough asserted that the record ev- idence showed that the property's principal use would be a crematory, not a funeral home, and therefore was not permitted in the LI Zoning District. DECISION: Judgment of Court of Common Pleas affirmed. The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania concluded that River's Edge's proposed principal use of the property in the LI Zoning District would be a fu- neral home, which was permitted under the Borough's zoning ordinance, rather than a crematory, which was permitted as an accessory use but not as a principal use. In so holding, the court looked to the definition of "funeral home." The term was not defined in the Borough's zoning ordinance, so the court looked 10 © 2017 Thomson Reuters