21-02-2025
Scranton firm sues city zoning board to overturn its denial of Airbnb rentals at a house in Green Ridge neighborhood
A realty firm in Scranton suing the city zoning board aims to overturn its denial of Airbnb rentals at a house in the Green Ridge neighborhood.
The board on Jan. 8 rejected an application by Jabez Realty LLC's Peter Bonacuse and his wife, Rebecca Stokes, to continue having Airbnb rentals at a small single-family home at 809 Delaware St.
The firm filed a zoning-appeal lawsuit on Feb. 14 in Lackawanna County Court arguing the board erred in rejecting the Airbnb rentals because they predated the new 2023 zoning ordinance and thus should be grandfathered in as allowable.
Attorney Richard Rinaldi, at right, representing Jabez Realty LLC, speaks during a Scranton Zoning Board hearing on Jan. 8, 2025 on Airbnb rentals at a house at 809 Delaware St. in Green Ridge owned by Jabez Realty LLC, as Jabez owner Peter Bonacuse and his wife, Rebecca Stokes, confer with each other in the background. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / ELECTRIC CITY TELEVISION VIA YOUTUBE)
The lawsuit
According to the suit:
Jabez Realty LLC bought the house in 2020 because of its 'prime location' to rent it out via the Airbnb platform, according to the lawsuit prepared by attorney Richard Rinaldi of Old Forge, representing the firm.
The house, in an R-10 residential zone, was 'abandoned, run down and being used as an ad hoc dumping ground' before Jabez ownership. Jabez cleaned and landscaped the property and completely renovated the home inside and out in less than three years.
The firm started renting out the house via Airbnb in February 2023, and it is among the top five highest rated and most-sought-after rentals in Scranton. No complaints about garbage or noise have ever been made, and there had not been any police calls to the address since Jabez has owned it, the lawsuit says.
The city adopted a new zoning ordinance in December 2023. Jabez filed an application in December 2024 for a special exemption to continue Airbnb rentals at the house.
The zoning hearing
According to a video of the Jan. 8 zoning hearing broadcast and recorded by Electric City Television and posted on its YouTube channel, the discussion and testimony during that meeting included:
Rinaldi contended the Airbnb rentals predated the new zoning ordinance and should be grandfathered in as a 'classic definition' of a preexisting, nonconforming use. Bonacuse is a lifelong city resident and Stokes runs the Airbnb rentals. 'This is a stellar property. You have the (Airbnb) reviews,' Rinaldi told the board.
Bonacuse testified how he fixed up a run-down home and made it an asset.
'That place was a mess. That was a hoarder house. I took 17 2-ton dump truck loads of junk and stench out of that place. I cleaned it up. It's the best thing that happened to that neighborhood. I don't know why people are complaining,' Bonacuse said. 'I brought new life into that property.'
Some renters stay for long stretches, he said. 'We have doctors, nurses, mostly medical people, (and) tourists — you can't imagine the tourists that come to Scranton, Pennsylvania, from like Poland and Ireland. They come there to stay and visit the city. It's a popular thing. This is an asset to the city,' Bonacuse said.
Peter Bonacuse of Jabez Realty LLC, owner of a house at 809 Delaware St. in the Green Ridge section of Scranton, testifying during a Scranton Zoning Board hearing regarding Airbnb rentals at the house. His wife, Rebecca Stokes, is in the background. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / ELECTRIC CITY TELEVISION VIA YOUTUBE)
Stokes testified she is at the house daily, cleans it regularly and has rules and regulations regarding guests. Tenants can rent there by the room or by the whole house, which sleeps up to 10 people, the maximum number of guests they allow. They do not allow parties or pets, and the house is good for the neighborhood, as renters visit local establishments and businesses. 'They love the neighborhood,' Stokes testified. 'It's a very well-run place.'
Rebecca Stokes, at right, and her husband, Peter Bonacuse of Jabez Realty LLC, owner of a house at 809 Delaware St. in the Green Ridge section of Scranton, testifies during a Scranton Zoning Board hearing regarding Airbnb rentals at the house. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / ELECTRIC CITY TELEVISION VIA YOUTUBE)
Laura Agostini, president of the Green Ridge Neighborhood Association, testified she had received complaints from neighbors about the house being used as an Airbnb, and limited available parking. She also believes the house was 'an illegal short-term rental' since Jabez starting renting it out via Airbnb and thus it cannot be grandfathered; and because the owner does not live there, it really is not a short-term rental. 'I object to this Airbnb, to the special exception being granted,' Agostini said.
Laura Agostini, president of the Green Ridge Neighborhood Association, at podium at left, testifies during a Scranton Zoning Board hearing on Jan. 8, 2025 on Airbnb rentals at a house at 809 Delaware St. in Green Ridge owned by Jabez Realty LLC, as Jabez owner Peter Bonacuse, at far right, and his wife, Rebecca Stokes, second from left, flank their attorney, Richard Rinaldi. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / ELECTRIC CITY TELEVISION VIA YOUTUBE)
The board denied the application under both the old and new zoning ordinances. Board Chairman Jim McDermott, Shawn Walsh and Bob Gattens voted 3-0 to reject the rentals as grandfathered under the old ordinance, and they also voted 3-0 to deny a special exception under the new ordinance.
The Scranton Zoning Board, from left, Shawn Walsh, Chairman Jim McDermott and Bob Gattens during a Scranton Zoning Board hearing on Jan. 8, 2025, when they voted to reject Airbnb rentals at a house at 809 Delaware St. in Green Ridge owned by Jabez Realty LLC. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / ELECTRIC CITY TELEVISION VIA YOUTUBE)
The rejection led to the lawsuit seeking to reverse the board's decisions.
'The stays in a boarding house can be no less than five days and because often the renters are a single family whose stay are often longer (than) a week due to the popularity of the house, the Airbnb operated by Jabez LLC can be classified as a single-family dwelling, which is not a short-term rental,' the lawsuit claims.
