Southco, Inc. v. Concord Township

In Southco, Inc. v. Concord Township, 552 Pa. 66, 713 A.2d 607 (1998), the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania interpreted the language in the zoning ordinance of Concord Township and concluded that off-track betting was an accessory use to a restaurant. In Southco, applicants Greenwood Racing, Inc. and Brandywine Turf Club, Inc. wished to open a "Turf Club" restaurant with appurtenant off-track betting. Southco, 552 Pa. at 69, 713 A.2d at 608. The Concord Township Zoning Ordinance did not explicitly allow gambling facilities, but did allow accessory uses, which it defined as "a use conducted on the same lot as, and subordinate to, a principal use to which it is related (which use is clearly incidental to and customarily found) in connection with a particular principal use." Southco, 552 Pa. at 74, 713 A.2d at 611 (quoting Section 104 of the Concord Township Zoning Ordinance.) The Supreme Court held that wagering fit into this definition of accessory use as it was both subordinate to and customary and incidental to the Turf Club's primary use as a restaurant. The Court found the wagering was subordinate to the restaurant use for the following reasons: 75% of the building space was devoted to the restaurant use, while only 25% was devoted to the off-track betting; the majority of the employees were devoted to the restaurant use; and, most importantly, the Race Horse Industry Reform Act, 4 Pa. C.S. 325.101-.402, provided that off-track wagering was only permitted at facilities incorporating high-end restaurants. With regard to this last point, the Court stated "the Race Horse Industry Reform Act itself demonstrates that the wagering aspect of the Turf Club is dependent on, and subordinate to, the restaurant, since the Act clearly does not envision or permit a facility allowing wagering to exist without a restaurant such as that proposed by the Applicants." Id. at 75, 713 A.2d at 611. The Race Horse Industry Reform Act was also central to the Court's determination that off-track wagering was a use "customarily incidental" to a restaurant: "state regulations envision the wagering component of a Turf Club like that proposed by Applicants as being customarily incidental to a restaurant since the regulations will not allow approval of such a facility without a restaurant." Id. at 76, 713 A.2d at 612.