Strip club rezoning at issue in Middle Smithfield Township

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Written by: 195 on Mar 4, 2010

A strip club would be allowed at Werry's Pub if zoning changes, authored in part by Werry's owner, Middle Smithfield Supervisor Bob Spano, are adopted.

The entire zoning chapter of the township code has been rewritten by the supervisors. Public comment and possibly a vote on the changes will be held at a 9 a.m. public hearing today.

Adult entertainment is currently allowed only in industrial zones. Supervisors have changed the C1 commercial zone to include adult entertainment subject to a conditional-use hearing. The C1 zone spans most of Route 209 through Middle Smithfield.

In July, Spano advertised Werry's for sale in a regional adult-industry magazine, stating — incorrectly — that the property was already zoned for adult entertainment. The Marshalls Creek pub has been on the market since March 2009.

Spano bought Werry's with a liquor license in 2007. But the license got mixed up in a legal battle between the former owner and a third party. It never properly transferred to Spano, and so Werry's became a bring-your-own-bottle business.

But a landmark bar that doesn't serve liquor is not such a money-maker. The property value decreased. Spano has struggled to keep the place open, making partial payments to the bank and spending plenty on attorney's fees trying get the license back.

"Wayne Bank has been great. They are supporting us. They know what's going on," Spano said Wednesday.

Spano does not have a buyer for Werry's but says buyers will likely contact him if the zoning change is passed.

Is it ethical for a supervisor to be involved in writing zoning changes that would make his property more valuable?

"Other people have been on the board and have changed facilities for monetary reasons in the past. Why should Bob Spano be any different than anyone else through the years so we can keep commercial growth growing?" Spano said.

He declined to identify the former board members he accused.

Barry Kauffman, executive director of the good-government group Common Cause Pennsylvania, said that even if others haven't been caught, Spano could run into trouble.

"If the link can be made that his official actions will result in financial reward for himself or his immediate family, then he may have crossed the line of propriety established for state ethics law," Kauffman said.

Spano says he will not recuse himself from voting on zoning changes.

"Werry's is not the only property I own in the township. I pay over $100,000 in property taxes. Why shouldn't I vote?" he said.

Middle Smithfield's newest supervisor, Mitchell Marcus, says he will not vote on the zoning changes today. The changes are complicated, and Marcus wants to hear public comment first.

The zoning changes are not likely complete. The Monroe County Planning Commission has reviewed the proposed zoning and suggested 27 changes.

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