A state judge, siding with the East Torresdale Civic Association, has reversed a Zoning Board of Adjustment decision allowing Maggie’s Waterfront Cafe to operate an outdoor patio.
Maggie’s owner Kevin Goodchild told the Northeast Times he doesn’t plan to give up the fight over outdoor seating. He said his lawyers have already started the process of appealing the ruling.
“The process keeps going,” Goodchild said. “It’s not over yet. We’ll have to take it up to the next court level.”
For the time being, the patio remains open. Goodchild said Monday he was waiting to hear from the city on whether he would have to close the outdoor area while he is appealing the court’s decision.
Court of Common Pleas Judge Edward Wright made the ruling on Thursday, a day after attorneys from both sides argued the case inside a City Hall courtroom.
Last July, the ZBA granted Maggie’s approval for the patio under certain conditions, including that it close by 9:30 p.m.
ETCA filed an appeal in August, citing a 2014 agreement with Goodchild relating to a variance allowing Maggie’s to expand at its 9242 N. Delaware Ave. location. A proviso was put in place at that time specifically prohibiting outdoor dining.
Laurence Mester, who represented the community group, said Goodchild agreed to forgo the patio in order to get the expansion. He also said Maggie’s violated the agreement by offering outdoor dining without getting a variance.
The bar and restaurant was cited by the Department of Licenses and Inspections in 2017 and told to remove the outdoor dining or file a new zoning application, as previously reported by Times.
Mester argued in court that Maggie’s did not demonstrate a need — or hardship, in zoning parlance — for the patio.
“This is a thriving business and thriving restaurant,” he said. “It’s a self-created hardship.”
The ZBA, by approving the patio, ignored neighbors’ complaints about noise, parking, public urination and disorderly conduct, Mester added.
Members of the East Torresdale community have for years clashed with Goodchild over those issues. However, ETCA President Joe Carson said he would like to see the situation resolved so the neighborhood can move forward on other matters.
“I think we work to build bridges and see if there’s relationships we can establish that are more cordial,” Carson said after being told of the ruling. “It is what it is. It was an existing agreement and it was upheld… stand by agreements, that’s all we really ask.”
Maggie’s attorneys Shawn Ward and Dawn Tancredi, during their oral arguments, noted that the property has served as a restaurant since the 1930s. The ZBA made the correct decision in granting Maggie’s application because it recognized there was an increased demand for outdoor seating and no harm to the public, Tancredi said.
Goodchild said he plans to take the case to Commonwealth Court. ••
