Vested rights

No one expects rapier-sharp legal arguments and riveting testimony at a municipal zoning hearing, but even by those standards the three-hour hearing at West Marlborough Township the evening of Jan. 19 was exceptionally dull. The only excitement came when a stink bug crawled up the back of attorney Michael Gill's brown suit jacket. The spectators behind him were mesmerized, wondering whether it was going to crawl into his long, wavy hair before he noticed. (It didn't; one of his clients flicked it off him.)
Here's some background. Some Springdell residents don't like the impact that the popular tavern/restaurant The Whip has had on their quality of life: it brings noise, traffic and trash, they say. They've sought various remedies over the years, but the problems have persisted, so they presented a formal complaint to the township in 2010, claiming that the township zoning officer ignored the township's ordinance when he issued the initial permits and then permitted expansion of the Whip.
The township's attorney responded that the zoning officer had in fact done his job properly. The neighbors then filed an appeal to the township Zoning Hearing Board, which is what led to the Jan. 19 hearing.
The Whip, argued the neighbors' attorney, Mr. Gill, has become "very, very, very successful" and "a regional restaurant attraction," but its popularity has created "intolerable conditions" in Springdell.

The position taken by The Whip and the township is that the neighbors knew about the situation for years but did not file a complaint on a timely basis. The Whip's attorney said his clients did exactly what the township instructed them to do when renovating the property and opening the restaurant.
Moderating the hearing was the Zoning Hearing Board's solicitor, E. Craig Kalemjian of West Chester, and chairing the zoning board was Clayton Bright.
Other attorneys present were:

• Mr. Gill and Kristin S. Camp, both of Buckley, Brion, McGuire, Morris, & Sommer, West Chester, representing the Springdell neighbors (Joe and Cathy Huston, Gus and Linda Brown, George Strawbridge and several others)
• Neil Land of Brutscher, Foley, Milliner & Land, Kennett Square, representing The Whip's owners, Luke Allen and K.C. Culp
• J. Dwight Yoder of Gibbel Kraybill & Hess, Lancaster, representing the township.

The three township supervisors were also present, but only as spectators.
The hearing was to continue on Tuesday, Jan. 25. You are welcome to attend, but I'm going to find something more interesting to do: there's no guarantee that adventurous stink bug will return to entertain us.