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By JENNIFER LEARN-ANDES jandes@leader.net
Sunday, March 09, 2003 Page: 3A
PITTSTON TOWNSHIP – Residents disgusted with the recent opening of a
juvenile detention center in their backyard must head to county court if they
want to do anything about it, a state agency says.
Normally, residents could have brought their complaints before the township
Zoning Hearing Board, but part-time township Zoning Officer Jeff Pisanchyn
granted a zoning permit without alerting the public.
Mitch Hoffman, a policy specialist with the governor’s Center for Local
Government Services in Harrisburg, said township supervisors could have taken
legal steps to reverse the permit.
Township officials say they didn’t want to burden taxpayers with the
expense of litigation.
That leaves township residents with the sole recourse of challenging the
zoning issue – and the center’s ability to remain open – in the Luzerne County
Court of Common Pleas, Hoffman said.
Several residents have said they contemplated legal action, but didn’t
proceed because it would be too expensive.
Behind the scenes, some also questioned the likelihood of success because
they believe county judges wholeheartedly support the privately owned center
that opened last month.
Court officials submitted Pennsylvania Child Care’s proposal for the center
to county Commissioner Tom Makowski for consideration. Court officials also
refused Jan. 1 to use the county’s deteriorating center, even though the state
was willing to continue licensing it for at least six months to a year.
Makowski and minority Commissioner Stephen A. Urban plan to build a new center
instead of using the newly opened facility.
Residents point out that Greg Zappala, one of the Pennsylvania Child Care’s
investors, is son of outgoing Superior Court Justice Stephen Zappala.
The residents won’t express their concerns about the court with their
names, saying they are afraid of retaliation.
County Court of Common Pleas President Judge Mike Conahan has said judges
have not – and won’t – lobby for any particular detention center option.
A few residents say their opinion that the courts are behind the project
was somewhat reinforced by the presence of a judge in the audience of a fall
2001 township meeting to discuss the project.
Township Supervisor Tony Attardo said this week that he invited Court of
Common Pleas Judge Mark Ciavarella to attend the meeting because he oversaw
juvenile court matters.
Attardo said he wanted Ciavarella to answer general questions about
juvenile detention and said Ciavarella wasn’t there as a cheerleader for the
Pittston Township center.
The meeting was held because residents were upset that the facility got
zoning approval without any input or advance notice to the public. The zoning
officer said he approved the permit, thinking it was a publicly owned
recreation facility, and public buildings are listed as a permitted use at the
center site, which is zoned industrial.
Hoffman said he has heard of other local zoning officers getting confused
about whether buildings are public or private. As a result, some
municipalities have added boxes on their zoning applications that must be
checked if a proposed project is government-owned, he said.
Such a box isn’t on Pittston Township’s application.
Battling an already opened facility such as the one in Pittston Township
can be costly because the owners will undoubtedly argue they proceeded with
construction and incurred costs in good faith, Hoffman said.
He recalls one situation in which a zoning officer granted approval for
what he thought was a book store. It opened as an adult book store. The
township supervisors went to court, but the store hired a high-power attorney
and prevailed.
Residents who disagree with Pisanchyn’s decision are surprised that so much
power rests in the hands of a part-time zoning officer.
However, state laws say the zoning officer’s power is actually very
limited.
“The zoning officer shall administer the zoning ordinance in accordance
with its literal terms, and shall not have the power to permit any
construction or any use or change of use which does not conform to the zoning
ordinance,” says the state Municipalities Planning Code.
Township supervisors hire their zoning officers. There are no state
licensing or educational requirements, other than the ability to demonstrate a
working knowledge of zoning, according to the Center for Local Government
Services.
Pisanchyn has such experience because he used to operate his own
construction business, Attardo said.
Jennifer Learn-Andes, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at
831-7333.