On Sept. 2, North Whitehall small business owners Gene and Debbie Weierbach announced they have teamed up with the Institute for Justice to file a constitutional challenge to the township’s zoning code

The legal challenge comes after they say a township supervisor allegedly weaponized the zoning code to order officials to investigate the Weierbachs’ decades-old business following a dispute between the supervisor and Gene Weierbach regarding repairs to one of the supervisor’s cars.

For 24 years, Gene Weierbach has run an auto repair shop in his garage on the secluded, 16-acre piece of land he and Debbie Weierbach live on with their adult son, who has severe autism.

No neighbors or customers have ever complained about Gene Weierbach’s business. “Working on cars is my passion, and being able to do so from my own home ensures I can be there for my son when he needs me,” Gene Weierbach said. “For more than 20 years, this setup has worked perfectly for me, Debbie, our son, our customers and our neighbors.”

In 2021, the North Whitehall Township supervisor became a customer at Gene Weierbach’s garage.

Over the next two years, he regularly brought Gene Weierbach three different vehicles to work on, including an old BMW with mechanical and wiring issues.

In 2023, the two had a dispute over Gene Weierbach’s work on the BMW.

The supervisor allegedly accused Gene Weierbach of incompetence and overcharging him, and in response, Gene Weierbach politely asked the supervisor to take his business elsewhere.

Shortly after the dispute, the supervisor allegedly asked the township to investigate Gene Weierbach’s business.

The township then issued Gene Weierbach a citation and cease-and-desist letter, saying his business violated the zoning code.

“A powerful politician’s personal vendetta is not a legitimate reason for the government to shut down a business,” Institute for Justice Senior Attorney Ari Bargil said.

After receiving the citation and the cease-and-desist letter, the Weierbachs hired an attorney and applied for a variance.

During the meeting before the North Whitehall Township Zoning Hearing Board, 16 people spoke in favor of the business, nobody spoke against the business and the board granted the variance.

However, the township, led by the supervisor, appealed the decision and the zoning board reversed itself, denying the variance.

The township argues the Weierbachs’ business violates a zoning ordinance that bans home auto repair shops, even though the Weierbachs operated for decades without issue and at least one other home auto repair shop has existed in the township.

Institute for Justice and the Weierbachs have now filed a constitutional challenge to the zoning code’s ban on auto repair shops, along with a proposal to change the zoning ordinance to allow the Weierbachs’ business.

Additionally, the Weierbachs’ current attorney, William Fries, has appealed the denial of the business’s variance in state court.

“A beloved business that causes no harm to the community should not be shuttered because a government official doesn’t like where it’s located,” Institute for Justice Attorney Daniel Woislaw said. “Zoning laws are meant to protect against real nuisances, not to give bureaucrats arbitrary authority to shut good businesses down.”

Through its Zoning Justice Project, Institute for Justice defends the rights of property owners to use their land free from arbitrary, abusive zoning restrictions.

Last year, Institute for Justice won a case challenging South Fulton, Georgia’s use of zoning to block a small-business owner from opening because it would provide too much competition for existing businesses.

Earlier this year, Institute for Justice won a battle to keep a Montana homeless shelter open, after city officials tried to use zoning to shut it down.

And last month, a court ruled in favor of Institute for Justice client Tiny House Hand Up in its lawsuit challenging Calhoun, Georgia’s ban on building homes smaller than 1,150 square feet.