Apr 17, 2017 3 min read

The new owner of the former Slovene National Benefit Society building in Cross Creek Township would need permission from township officials to resume its use as a social club.

The township manager described the property as having been cleaned up and the building repaired since a private owner bought the old Lodge 292 belonging to the society, known as SNPJ, late last month. But after the building changed hands, a possible association with a motorcycle club has generated complaints on social media and to township officials.

The building was sold March 30 to private buyer Michael Barringer. County records list the sale price as $17,000.

Within days of the sale, a sign with the words “Pagans Motorcycle Club” went up.

Subsequent to the sign going up, township manager Rachel Blosser said the township zoning officer met with Barringer and advised him of the provisions of the zoning ordinance, which prohibits the sign there.

“They’ve been very cooperative,” she said. “They removed the sign.”

Barringer didn’t return calls seeking comment last week.

Blosser said the new owner has asked to appear at the township supervisors’ meeting scheduled for 7:30 p.m. today to discuss his plans for the property.

Blosser said the building was closed for two years before it was sold, meaning the property’s use as a club is considered abandoned. Such use is barred under zoning rules for the “village residential” district where it’s located.

The zoning ordinance allows applicants to seek variances from the zoning hearing board for nonconforming uses if a property meets certain criteria.

“They cannot have a social club there unless they address the zoning issue,” Blosser said.

She also said the sign on the SNPJ building, which went up a few days after the building sold, wasn’t allowed under the zoning ordinance.

“I have not received a lot of complaints” concerning the property, she said. Those she has received have been “mostly about safety and property value concerns.”

Speculation about the future of the property also spawned a spirited back-and-forth on a Facebook page geared toward Avella locals. Some claimed the presence of the club at the building – without citing specific actions by anyone at the property since it sold – would disturb those nearby or affect property values. Others pointed out the new owner’s rights to the property or said the property looks better since it sold.

Blosser also said people on the property “have been currently cleaning it up inside and out. They’ve been putting new shingles on it.”