Objectors Who Chose Not to Appear at a Public Zoning Hearing

In Nernberg v. City of Pittsburgh, 153 Pa. Commw. 219, 620 A.2d 692 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1993), the Court held that objectors who chose not to appear at a public zoning hearing and establish competitor standing to challenge a conditional use approval waived the opportunity to do so. Absent evidence to support a claim the objectors were aggrieved by the adjudication or had a direct interest in it, no basis existed for a finding that the objectors had standing to appeal. "Even if the objectors might otherwise have had standing, they failed to seize the moment by presenting evidence at the public hearing." 620 A.2d at 697. Moreover, in Nernberg, the Court recognized that in certain cases, such as disappointed bidder cases, "competitive injury is never sufficient, in and of itself, to give rise to standing." Id. at 626.