Stonebridge decision delayed

Chadds Ford Township Zoning Hearing Board Chairman Bob Reardon is blaming the holiday season for a delay in rendering a decision on whether Stonebridge Mansion may be used as a residential lifestyle modification treatment facility.

The decision is now tentatively scheduled for Dec. 22.

Stonebridge, at 681 Webb Road — on the southwest corner of Webb and Route 1 — lies within the R-1 residential zoning district, but owners Drew and Nicole Barnabei want to use the 25-room mansion for business purposes.

The board held two hearing sessions on the matter in October and November. When the hearing closed last month, Reardon gave attorneys on both sides a deadline for filing their findings of fact and conclusions of law so that a decision could be rendered on Dec. 16.

However, Reardon said both attorneys were late, and board members need more time. The board set Tuesday, Dec. 22, as the new date, but Reardon said solicitor Frank Sbandi would ask the Barnabeis’ attorney for a further extension.

The board has 45 days from the close of the hearing — which was Nov. 18 — to render a decision. That period ends Jan. 2, and Reardon said Christmas and New Year’s celebrations and preparation could get in the way of that time frame. The board would need written permission from the Barnabeis to go beyond Jan. 2.

If the Barnabeis do not grant an extension, the decision will be made next week, Reardon said.

The Barnabeis argued that using the home as a residential rehab center is a use by right, but if the zoning hearing board disagreed, they were seeking “reasonable accommodation.”

Their attorney, Jim Byrne, said denying the use would be a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act and the Fair Housing Act.

During testimony, it was revealed that the home would be used as a facility for up to 15 people recovering from substance abuse.

However, the township, through attorney Kathy Labrum, argued that the property could not be used for commercial purposes because it is zoned for residential use only. Additionally, the house does not meeting building code specs for such a use.

Labrum also asserted that, should the use be permitted, the Barnabeis plan to vacate the mansion as their home and leave it for use solely as the rehab center.

According to Nicole Barnabei, she made the application for zoning approval at the instruction of the federal district court. She went to federal court after the township denied her request to use Stonebridge as a rehab center. She said she was told in federal court that they (federal court) could not do anything without her first getting a decision from the township Zoning Hearing Board.

This is not the first time the Barnabeis have been to the hearing board. Two years ago, they wanted to use Stonebridge as a for-profit wedding venue, a use the board denied. That decision was upheld by the Court of Common Pleas when the decision was appealed.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.

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