Wright v. France

Citations

• 279 Pa. 22
• 123 A. 586
• 1924 Pa. LEXIS 667

Syllabus

<p>Boroughs — Building laws — Ordinances — Complaint against — Time — Permission to construct building — Mandamus—Act of May 14, 1916, P. L. 312 — Zoning system.</p> <p>1. Where a borough ordinance provides that an official named shall issue a building permit, when the applicant therefor shall have complied with all the requirements of the law and ordinances, the duty of the official is' purely ministerial, and, if he refuses to issue the permit, mandamus is the proper remedy to compel him to issue it.</p> <p>2. A borough council is bound to permit the construction of a building, where it appears that it is to be erected in compliance with the borough ordinance relating to the construction of buildings.</p> <p>3. Council cannot refuse permission because the building proposed is out of keeping with the residential surroundings of the neighborhood.</p> <p>4. The remedy provided by the Act of May 14, 1915, section 9, 'P. L. 312, through proceedings in the quarter sessions, where a person is aggrieved in consequence of an ordinance, applies only to a complaint against the ordinance itself, and not to a proceeding under it.</p> <p>5. The provisions in the Act of May 14, 1915, P. L. 312, which requires that complaint against an ordinance must he made “to the next court of quarter sessions” means to the next court after the ordinance passed, and not to the next court after the grievance.</p> <p>6. Permits cannot be refused simply to prevent the erection of business houses in residential districts, as there is no law establishing the zoning system in boroughs.</p>