A fortune teller probably had a feeling that the vote wouldn’t go her way when she attended the monthly Somerton Civic Association meeting on Dec. 9 seeking support for a zoning variance that would allow her to continue seeing clients in her Bustleton Avenue home.
Indeed, about 30 residents voted unanimously against the zoning application, despite the purported psychic’s assurances that she had opened her business last summer without a zoning permit only because she was unaware of city ordinances regulating such activities.
At last week’s meeting, neither she, nor residents mentioned that Pennsylvania law explicitly prohibits fortune telling for profit. The statute (Title 18, Section 7104 of the Crimes Code) grades fortune telling “for gain or lucre” as a third-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison. But that law is rarely enforced, experts say.
The Somerton psychic, Gina Steve, told residents that she began renting the single house at 11617 Bustleton Ave. in July and opened her studio there. She typically sees one or two clients per day, she said. Property records identify the owner as Wu Zhuo Neng.
Soon after she opened, residents allegedly noticed an illuminated “psychic readings” sign in the window, as well as a sign directing visitors to park on the front lawn. They complained to police and to the civic association, who asked the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspection to investigate.
L&I issued a violation, which ultimately compelled Steve to file for a zoning variance. The property is zoned “RSD3” or “residential/residential mixed-use.”
At last week’s meeting, Steve argued that the area is “very commercial” already with a dentist’s office in the house next door and a shopping center just beyond that. She referred to her psychic readings as “a small business” that would fit into the local character.
“It’s all I know how to do,” she said.
Since learning of the complaints and getting a parking ticket, she has stopped allowing cars to park on the front lawn, she said. She is also willing to turn off her illuminated sign after 10 p.m., if the light is a problem, she said. Steve denied complaints about excessively bright flood lights at the rear of her property. Those lights belong to a neighbor, she said.
The psychic submitted a letter of support purportedly signed by her landlord.
Seth Kaplan, the Somerton Civic Association president, noted that it took several months and several visits from L&I before Steve took steps to legalize her business. Steve replied that she would have filed for a zoning variance sooner but had difficulty completing the paperwork.
The SCA zoning chairman, Brian Morton, reported that the zoning code prohibits any illuminated signs on the property. The civic group did not entertain a vote on the sign issue.
As for the state law regarding fortune telling, State College-based criminal defense attorney Matt McClenahen researched the topic and concluded in an October 2013 article that, “prosecutions under the fortunetelling statute are so rare that there are no reported appellate cases in Pennsylvania.”
The ban explicitly covers “palm reading, tarot card reading or astrology for monetary compensation,” McClenahen wrote. “It is also illegal to charge someone money to cast either positive or negative spells or hexes.”
A spokeswoman for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office told the Northeast Times that the DA would prosecute any valid cases involving the statute. Philadelphia police commanders contacted by the Times stated that it would be difficult to make a case against someone for violating the statute without witnessing the crime, which would likely require an undercover investigator to pose as a client.
The date of Steve’s hearing at the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment has not been announced.
• In another zoning case, neighbors voted 28–2 to approve an application by a family at 15034 Theresa Drive to build a 20-foot by 20-foot roof over their rear patio. The patio will not be enclosed. The owners plan to remove a deck and a shed in the backyard to make room for the roof.
• City Councilman Brian O’Neill reported that two area homeowners have been ordered to remove oversized sheds from their yards because the structures encroached on the property lines. In addition, Council has passed O’Neill’s bill to reduce the size limitations for residential storage sheds. The maximum size will be 130 square feet under the ordinance.
• The civic association approved Chris Bordelon to replace Pat Cantwell as the group’s treasurer. Cantwell recently resigned after about eight years of service on the board.
• Kaplan, the SCA president, was recently named by billypenn.com as one of the city’s 15 top young community leaders. He was also named by PoliticsPA as one of the state’s top 10 Democratic political operatives of 2014 for his role as finance chairman of the Brendan Boyle for Congress campaign. Kaplan is chief of staff for state Rep. Kevin Boyle. ••
