The Philadelphia Inquirer took a shot at Abington Township yesterday in an opinion piece they published about the roadblocks homebased food businesses face in some of the local municipalities across Pennsylvania.

The specific instance relating to Abington Township involves resident Tim Sienold and his wife who wanted to open a home-based cookie business. Sienhold did some research and found out his business concept was allowed under PA law and adhered to the township’s zoning ordinances for a “No-Impact Home-Based Business”. However, when he applied for a zoning permit, Abington told him no.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

The zoning official told Sienold that the oil used to bake cookies would cause issues with the township’s sewage lines, even though baked goods use only a small amount of oil —barely enough to line a bowl or pan — and there is nothing abnormal about baking cookies in a home kitchen. When Sienold pressed further, assuring the zoning officials that he would compost whenever possible and not harm the sewage line, the zoning official gave a surprising answer. As the zoning official told Sienold, “If [they] were to permit this use, then that would mean [they] would have to permit every type of home-based bakery that would apply,” and the township says it doesn’t have the resources to conduct inspections for those permits. But bureaucratic laziness is not a legitimate reason to stop Pennsylvanians from earning income.

For the whole story, click here.