The Club at Blackthorne, a private event and wedding venue, is in violation of Penn Township’s zoning ordinance, the municipality’s solicitor said Thursday.
The 36,000-square-foot Club at Blackthorne is located off of Harrison City-Export Road in the township’s Blackthorne Estates housing community, which is accompanied by a golf course.
The site has been the subject of longstanding community and legal disputes.
It originally housed a pro shop, storage area for golf carts, locker rooms, office space, a banquet hall, a kitchen and an unfinished restaurant or grill room.
But the clubhouse has operated as a private wedding and events venue since November 2022. The golf course has been closed to the public since 2023.
This shift prompted a lawsuit by the township in May 2023 against the clubhouse, golf course, Blackthorne Investors and Bedrock Developers.
Related:
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• Blackthorne golf course, clubhouse will not close, township states
• Blackthorne clubhouse owner attempts to resolve dispute with golf course, lawsuit states
• Blackthorne Estates residents weigh in on upcoming Penn Township golf course vote
• Township alleges zoning violation over revised use of golf clubhouse
Anthony and Leah Cifelli purchased the facility in December from former owner Jeannine Schemm for $3.9 million, according to Westmoreland County property tax records. The Cifellis, owners of Ace Bartenders, plan to open a restaurant on the bottom floor of the facility and continue hosting weddings and private events on the property.
Blackthorne Investors appealed an occupancy permit issued in November to the clubhouse by township zoning officer Adam Hlad. Investors argue the clubhouse cannot operate as a private event center and restaurant without maintaining its ties to the golf course, according to the appeal.
Doing so, according to Blackthorne Investors, would violate the township’s mixed density residential zoning ordinance and the planned residential development approval the township administered to Blackthorne Estates in 1993.
A hearing regarding the appeal initially scheduled for Thursday was moved to next month.
The township removed provisions for planned residential developments from its zoning ordinance in 2005, assigning Blackthorne Estates to its mixed density residential district, according to an appeal obtained by TribLive through a Right-to-Know request.
“The Club at Blackthorne has no affiliation with the golf course or its operations, and, accordingly, any use made of the clubhouse property is not ‘accessory’ to the operations of the golf course,” the appeal states.
Penn Township Solicitor Michael Korns said the Cifellis informed him of their intent to appeal the zoning violation the township issued to them. This would mean the township’s zoning hearing board would need to hold hearings for the occupancy permit appeal and the zoning violation appeal, Korns said.
“An appeal of the notice of violation would come before this board, and we would be having essentially the same hearing twice,” Korns said.
Gary Falatovich, solicitor for Blackthorne Investors, encouraged the board to ensure Hlad, the zoning officer who issued the clubhouse occupancy permit, is present at the rescheduled hearing.
“I think the circumstances in which the permit was issued and conversations he had with representatives of Blackthorne, the Club at Blackthorne property, would be material to some of the defenses that we would have,” Falatovich said.
Both matters will be discussed by the zoning hearing board at 7 p.m. March 12 in the township municipal building, 2001 Municipal Court.