PA Appeals Court Holds Neighboring Residents had Substantial Interest in Zoning Board’s Approval of Landowning Company’s Proposed Expansion of Landfill

This post was authored by Matthew Loeser, Esq.

In this case, the Friends of Lackawanna (FOL) and individual citizens sought review of an order of the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna County dismissing their appeal from a decision of the Dunmore Borough Zoning Hearing Board. The Board denied Objectors’ appeal of the Borough’s Zoning Officer’s preliminary opinion that a landfill’s proposed upward expansion did not violate the applicable building height limitations in the Borough’s Zoning Ordinance. Specifically, the Board determined Objectors lacked standing to appeal the Board’s decision. Objectors appealed to the trial court, which agreed with the Board on the standing issue and granted Appellees’ motion to dismiss.

On appeal, Objectors claimed that they lived in close proximity to the landfill and that they could see and smell it from their homes. Additionally, they alleged they constantly cleaned dust and seagull droppings from their properties. Objectors also contended that FOL, as an organization, had derivate standing as a representative of its members to bring a cause of action despite the absence of an injury to the organization. The record indicated that in addition to its involvement in the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) proceedings, FOL participated in the negotiation of the Host Municipality Fee Agreement, which referenced the zoning issues discussed by the Zoning Officer in his opinion. Thus, FOL was found to have derivative standing.

The court next noted that the Board and the trial court acknowledged Individual Objectors’ complaints regarding pungent odors of rotting garbage, dust, bird droppings, and truck traffic directly affecting their properties. While the landfill may have pre-dated the Objectors moving in, the Objectors challenged the proposed Phase III expansion in this case. The proposed expansion would, at the least, continue, if not exacerbate, the present harm to Individual Objectors and their properties for another 46 years. As such, the court determined that the Individual Objectors could suffer considerable harm by approval of the expansion. Accordingl0y, the court reversed and remanded this case to the trial court for a decision on the merits of Objectors’ appeal.

Friends of Lackawanna v Dunmore Borough Zoning Hearing Board, 186 A. 3d 525 (PA Commwlth 6/26/2018)