In 2019, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court examined the zoning issues surrounding the increasingly popular use of single-family homes as short-term rentals in Slice of Life v. Hamilton Township Zoning Hearing Board, 207 A.3d 886 (Pa. 2019). In the nearly four years since Slice of Life was decided, many municipalities have relied on its holding to prohibit short-term rentals in residential zoning districts—reasoning that the purely transient use of short-term rentals is inconsistent with the common definition of “family” that is typically defined as a single household in local ordinances. While municipalities continue to grapple with the repercussions of Slice of Life, proponents for another controversial residential use—community living or group homes—attempted to rely on Slice of Life to support a curative amendment to a zoning ordinance that would allow a community living use in a residential district.

On Nov. 7, 2022, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court rendered a decision in Hope House in Midland PA v. Borough of Midland, PA, No. 145-CD-2022 2022 WL 16727674 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2022), affirming the denial of a property owner’s curative amendment that would have permitted a group home in a single family residentially zoned district. Although the court’s decision was unreported, it may be cited for persuasive value in the future and is indicative of the court’s interpretation of the boundaries of the holding in Slice of Life.

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