One of the topics generating a great deal of attention in zoning relates to people leasing their residential homes via Airbnb. This issue came up in Reihner v. City of Scranton Zoning Hearing Board No. 256 C.D. 2017 (PA Commw. Ct. Dec. 8, 2017). The owners of a single family residential dwelling rented the three bedrooms on the second floor of their house via the Airbnb website. The City filed a notice of violation alleging…

A recent Commonwealth Court case involving a pair of residential properties has aptly demonstrated that not every residential property in Philadelphia can be automatically utilized for student housing. This case in question is Schwartz v. Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustment, 2015 Pa Commw. Lexis 413 (2015). In Schwartz, two properties were zoned for single family and two family residential use, and located near Drexel University’s campus in Powelton Village. The properties were unequivocally zoned and…

Metro Bank v. Board of Commissioners of Manheim Township (Pa. Commonwealth Court 2015) dealt with the appropriate calculation for a transportation impact fee. Metro Bank was approved to build a bank in Manheim Township, and was required to pay an estimated transportation impact fee prior to the start of construction. This dispute is due to the amount of the transportation impact fee to be paid. Metro Bank’s consultant determined that the new bank’s location would…

The unreported case of Jenkins v. City of Philadelphia (1470 C.D 2014) should serve as a reminder to all land use attorneys that they must always adequately satisfy all of the applicable proofs when presenting a zoning case. In this instance, the Applicant needed use and dimensional variances in order to utilize a building for commercial and residential purposes. In this instance, the property only permitted industrial uses. The Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustment granted…