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Multi-cultural procession in Wilkes-Barre honors St. Sharbel

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WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A decision won&#8217;t be announced until April 20 in the ongoing case between Vesuvio&#8217;s Pizzeria/Ristorante and businessman Thom Greco.At Wednesday&#8217;s meeting of the Wilkes-Barre Zoning Hearing Board, additional testimony and evidence was presented in the case that involves Vesuvio&#8217;s request for additional parking spaces. Greco&#8217;s attorney, Megan Maguire, argued the issue should never have been taken to the zoning board because King&#8217;s College &#8212; which struck a deal with Vesuvio&#8217;s for additional parking spaces in return for placing college surveillance camera&#8217;s on the Vesuvio building &#8212; should not be allowed to relinquish parking spaces.Maguire cited a master plan King&#8217;s submitted to the city, which details parking needs. Maguire said the college was clear in stating it does not have enough parking. The plan was submitted in 2008, she said.&#8220;You can&#8217;t release parking spaces when you don&#8217;t have enough of your own,&#8221; Maguire said.Maguire argued improvements made at Vesuvio&#8217;s were not done to alleviate a dangerous parking situation; they were done to increase profitability.&#8220;This is not a case of undue hardship,&#8221; Maguire said.Don Sabatino, one of the owners of the family-owned Vesuvio&#8217;s, testified that in 2012 there were accidents during the first six months of ownership of the business on North Main Street. He said a 10-inch curb was installed and an iron fence erected to create an outdoor patio. He said there have been no accidents or near-accidents in the last three and one half years. He also said since he reached the agreement with King&#8217;s regarding five parking spaces, that issue has been resolved, as well.Maguire said if the goal was to alleviate parking issues and create a more beautiful site, Vesuvio could have planted grass or a tree. Instead, she argued, the patio was built, increasing profits, which she said does not qualify as an undue hardship.Sabatino&#8217;s attorney, Stephen A. Seach, said his client met the requirements of undue hardship, citing the accidents that dictated a reconfiguration of the property to make it safer.Attorney Jack Dean, in his role as conflict counsel, set April 20 as the date to announce the zoning board&#8217;s decision. Maguire and Seach are to submit briefs by April 6, he said.A city hospital case was continued by the zoning hearing board. Wilkes-Barre Hospital Company, doing business as Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, is requesting a special exception to add on to its three-story Heart and Vascular Institute Building/Intensive Care Unit Tower.The hospital is seeking approval to add three floors and a helistop to an existing building.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Bill O&#8217;Boyleboboyle@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle,</shirttailMeta></div>

Wilkes-Barre Zoning Board sets date for decision on Vesuvio’s, Greco dispute