The Market on the Fareways new outdoor seating spaces and the new trellis behind the market are in violation of a 1981 agreement the market had with neighbors according to a lawsuit neighbors brought against the market last month. (Photo by Pete Mazzaccaro) 

by Brendan Sample

A year after the issue first surfaced, a group of Ardleigh Street and Hartwell Lane residents have officially filed a lawsuit against Glengarry Properties, owner of the Market on the Fareway and Chestnut Hill Hotel, over the matter of the property’s beer garden.

The suit reinforces the neighbors’ claims from the past year that the beer garden is a violation of a covenant established in 1981 between the original property owners and Ardleigh residents. Set up to be legally binding, the covenant put restrictions on further development of the property, and the current neighbors feel that the beer garden violates that agreement.

The suit names a total of 25 plaintiffs, representing 16 households. Those plaintiffs cite multiple ongoing violations of the 1981 agreement and the failure of Glengarry Properties to remedy those violations. The suit seeks damages in excess of $50,000 and relief from the various violations, which include several tenants cooking on premises and the construction of a trellis and seating behind the market building, all explicitly prohibited in the agreement.

One of those plaintiffs, James Overcash, has owned a house on Hartwell Lane since the agreement was originally signed. He currently lives in Wyndmoor, but still owns the Hartwell Lane home.

“We’ve had problems with the market for years,” he said. “We’ve called Ron Pete. He’s returned some of those calls, but nothing has changed ... It’s unfortunately now in the hands of lawyers.”

The suit produced a meeting between attorneys for both parties two weeks ago. H. Fintan McHugh, attorney for the neighbors, said he thought there might be room for a compromise but was not prepared to say what that might be.

“We’ve had a very preliminary discussion,” he said. “The nature of those discussions is looking for what both parties can live with. It was a productive meeting, but there’s more work to do.”

The defendants, meanwhile, continue to claim that the beer garden is not a direct violation of the covenant.

In a statement to the Chestnut Hill Local last year, Ron and Abby Pete, co-owners of Glengarry Properties, said that they believed the beer garden to be within the confines of both the covenant and the letter of the law. Both the Petes and their counsel had thus hoped to reach a solution before the matter came to a potential lawsuit, but will now have to work under different circumstances.

“Glengarry Properties had been working with a representative of the neighbors to address some concerns that had been raised and was surprised by the sudden decision of some neighbors to file a lawsuit seeking to shut down the beer garden and some other businesses in the Market,” said Ralph Wellington, lawyer to Glengarry Properties. “We are continuing our efforts to try and work things out amicably and hope that can be done.”

Only time will tell whether both parties can reach a new solution outside of a courtroom or not. With this being the latest chapter in nearly 40 years of disputes over the property, it remains to be seen just how long this will go on for before everyone involved can find an answer to this problem.