Neighbor urges Upper Nazareth Township supervisors to clean up boarded-up property

FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES

A neighbor of the former Ranch House Bar & Grill tonight urged the Upper Nazareth Township Board of Supervisors to pressure the restaurant owner to clean up the property.

The property at East Lawn and Schoeneck roads has sat idle since Bruno Scipioni bought it in July 2004. For a short time, the township's volunteer fire department has used it as a training facility. It's been boarded up for about seven years.

Scipioni said in a previous interview he wants to demolish the building, put in an Italian restaurant with four upstairs apartments and expand the parking lot. Scipioni owns Bruno Scipioni's Italian Ristorante & Pizzeria in Bethlehem Township. He has received permits and approval from the township for the project.

Thomas Manzo, who lives next door to the site at 403 E. Lawn Ave., asked the board for a time frame for when Scipioni must move forward on his project. Supervisor Willard Mohn said Scipioni's building permit is good for at least 120 days past July 3, 2012. Scipioni could reapply for a new permit at that time, he said.

"It's their property. They can do what they want," supervisors Chairman Mike Rinker said.

Manzo contends the boarded-up property is more than just an eyesore. He told the board he has seen cats climb the stairs and travel through an open space in a boarded-up window. The cats have attacked fish in one residents’ pond, Manzo said.

"We do have people in the neighborhood doing things above and beyond," Manzo said about the cats. "If you don't think there's things living in that building, there is. I can see them going in and out, through my backyard."

Manzo said Scipioni has told him on numerous occasions he plans to move forward with the project.

"The last four or five years he's been telling me every summer he's getting ready to do something," Manzo said. "When someone tells you year after year they're going to do something, I'm at my wit's end."

Scipioni previously blamed the economy for stalling the project. He previously told the Express-Times he's not aware of a cat problem at the property.

Rinker said the board will discuss the situation with Scipioni and see how they can solve the problem in preventing cats from entering the building. Vice Chairman Scott Sylvainus said he visited the property Monday to gain a better understanding of resident concerns.

"He's worked with us in the past on almost everything," Rinker said.

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/nazareth/index.ssf/2011/09/ranch_house_neighbor_urges_upp.html