Court Opinion

ID: 9637308
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 15:03:00.397273+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:04:57.910804
License: Public Domain

Dissenting Opinion by
Gunther, J.:
This appeal is from an order of the Court of Carbon County reversing the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
Gertrude M. Kreiser filed an application for a restaurant liquor license for the premises known as Walcksville Luncheonette, located in Franklin Township Carbon County. A hearing was held to determine whether or not the premises were located in a resort area and therefore qualified for a license undei the exception to the quota rule. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, after hearing, decided that the premises were not in a resort area and that there was no necessity for an additional restaurant liquor license in Franklin Township. An appeal was filed to the Quarter Sessions Court and heard de novo. The court reversed the board and granted the license after find*210ing the premises to he located in a resort area and sufficient evidence of necessity.
The questions to be determined by this appeal are whether there is sufficient evidence in the record to show that Franklin Township, Carbon County is located in a resort area and whether there is a necessity for another license.
Petitioner presented thirteen witnesses who testified that the premises were located in a resort area and that there is necessity for an additional licensed establishment in the area.
There are several streams with many miles of fishing. Among the streams are: White Oaks, Kreiser Hollow, Pine Hollow, Saw Mill, Berry, Long Bun and Poho Poco. The streams are well stocked with fish by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. There is also an abundance of both large and small game animals, which provide hunting for sportsmen. The premises also adjoins the Kriss Pines property which provides excellent fishing areas for the public and attracts numbers of sportsmen.
The testimony reveals that applicant’s premises is the only place on the highway from the Mahoning Turnpike entrance to the Poconos which serves full course meals to the public; that there are no summer boarding houses or tourist homes within the immediate area of the proposed establishment; and that large number of cars pass the premises during hunting and fishing seasons.
Paul C. Kresge, an enforcement officer for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, testified that lie made an investigation of the Walcksville Luncheonette to determine whether the location is within a resort area. He stated that he found several streams which were used for fishing, that Kriss Pines Hatchery is in the vicinity; he found no boarding houses or tourist *211homes but about seventeen cottages within 2 or 3 miles of the premises. He made his investigation during the small game hunting season and found evidence of hunting in the area. He made no investigation of the area in the summer and could not state the number of people that go there in that season. He was asked on cross-examination:
“Q. How is the hunting in that area? A. The hunting is always good.” The testimony of other witnesses describes and depicts Kriss Pines as a fishermen’s paradise. There are six dams in the area for swimming, and fishing; three are located at Camp Chickawaki, one at Ralph Neeb’s, and one at Kunkle’s.
Rayel Hill, a former state fish warden for eleven years, testified that the area is the best hunting and fishing area that they have, that the seven streams surrounding the premises provide twenty miles of the best fishing and are stocked regularly by the State.
From the evidence as presented in the record it would be difficult not to find that the premises are located in a resort area.
The second question for our consideration is whether applicant produced sufficient evidence to establish a necessity for a new license within the area.
Necessity must be weighed by the number of tourists, hunters, fishermen and transient visitors who come into the area during fishing and hunting seasons.
The evidence does disclose that there is a great influx of transient trade in the area and that the nearest licensee is four miles from the premises.
The testimony of several witnesses, including a competitor of the applicant, clearly establishes the necessity for the issuance of a license. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board produced one witness who failed to deny or testify at all with respect to the necessity of a liquor license in this area. The enforcement offi*212cer confined Ms investigation of tbe area to a one-day visit in tbe area in tbe fall of 1957. The applicant produced residents, police officers and business competitors who testified in support of the necessity for an additional license.
A review of tbe record in this case reveals that tbe lower court did not err in reversing tbe board.
Watkins, J., joins in this dissent.