PA- Armstrong takes Marietta to court

It appears he is in total compliance with the ordinance; NO MORE THAN 3 unrelated persons plus the homeowner. Three sex offenders and Mr Armstrong. What is the beef?

9-23-2008 Pennsylvania:

Says it's legal to let sex offenders live in his home

Former state Rep. Thomas E. Armstrong is launching a court battle to keep three convicted sex offenders living in his Marietta home.

Armstrong was ordered in July by borough zoning officer Mark Harman to move the three men out of his home at 704 E. Market St.

Harman cited a borough ordinance that prohibits more than four unrelated people plus the homeowner from living in a single-family home.

When Marietta's zoning board rejected Armstrong's appeal of the cease-and-desist order in early August, Armstrong vowed he would fight the case in court.

Armstrong's attorney, James N. Clymer, filed the civil lawsuit in the Court of Common Pleas on Sept. 11.

Court documents allege that Armstrong did not break the borough ordinance because no more than three of the men lived at his home at any one time. The lawsuit alleges that Harman failed to properly investigate who was living in Armstrong's home before he issued the cease-and-desist order June 18.

Armstrong said in an interview that his wife, Janice, and daughter had left the house to live with an ailing relative in Lancaster city before the three men moved in.

The documents also allege that the borough was fully aware that Armstrong had housed unrelated veterans in his home for nearly 20 years, but officials never raised the issue with him.

Armstrong maintains in the documents that the men "live with him as part of his family," which challenges the court to determine the definition of a family.

The men living with Armstrong first encountered public protest when Armstrong rented living space for them in a Conestoga Township apartment building that also housed women and children.

In early summer, Armstrong moved the men into his own home in Marietta after township officials cited a similar ordinance and ordered them out of the township.

Because the men are convicted of sex crimes, their photos and home addresses are listed on the state's Megan's Law Web site. That's how Marietta residents learned Armstrong had moved them into his home.

Armstrong said at the time that the men were living with him only until a permanent residence could be found for them, which he estimated would be by summer's end.

Armstrong also said that because the men are on probation, they may not live in the house with his daughter, who is a minor.

Armstrong's lawsuit maintains that the borough's ordinance does not differentiate between temporary and permanent residence.

Protesters picketed in front of Armstrong's home in July before the zoning board hearing.

According to the Megan's Law Web site, the three men still list the Armstrong home as their address.

Neither borough officials nor Clymer was available to comment on the case. ..News Source.. by SUSAN E. LINDT, Staff