Borough of West Conshohocken v. J. and J. Soppick, Borough of West Conshohocken v. J. and J. Soppick

Joseph and Janet Soppick obtained a permit in 1996 for a detached one‑story garage but built an attached two‑story garage that violated the Borough of West Conshohocken Zoning Ordinance.
The Borough’s Zoning Officer issued a Stop Work Order in April 1999 advising the Soppicks of the right to appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board.
The Soppicks appealed; the Zoning Hearing Board denied relief on June 11, 2004. The trial court affirmed in 2007 and this Court affirmed in 2008.
While the Soppicks’ 2007 appeal to this Court was pending, the Borough notified them (June 19, 2007) it would impose $300/day fines and later filed enforcement actions seeking civil penalties.
After appeals concluded, the Soppicks removed the garage (August 27, 2008). The Borough continued to pursue fines and eventually obtained a $130,500 judgment in the trial court, which the Commonwealth Court reversed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Borough)	Defendant's Argument (Soppick)	Held
Whether a municipality may initiate/enforce a civil penalty under the MPC while the landowner’s appeal of an enforcement notice/Stop Work Order remains pending	MPC does not expressly prohibit enforcement during appeal; Section 617.2(b) allows the court to stay fines, implying fines may be imposed absent a stay	Section 617.2(a) requires a "determination of a violation by the district justice" before judgment/enforcement; an appeal of the underlying enforcement prevents a conclusive determination and precludes filing for penalties	Court held enforcement was premature: penalties could not be pursued while appeals of the underlying enforcement were pending; reversed trial court judgment

Borough of Bradford Woods v. Platts, 799 A.2d 984 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2002) (no liability until conclusive determination of zoning violation)
Woll v. Monaghan Township, 948 A.2d 933 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2008) (municipality cannot commence magisterial proceedings until zoning hearing board determines violation)
Moon Township v. Cammel, 687 A.2d 1181 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1997) (failure to appeal enforcement notice makes violation conclusive)
Wright v. Lower Salford Township Municipal Police Pension Fund, 136 A.3d 1085 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2016) (undefined statutory terms are construed according to ordinary usage)
Loganville Borough v. Godfrey, 59 A.3d 1149 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2012) (standard of review in zoning enforcement appeals)