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Party house has officials swinging Penn Township says sex/swap club violates zoning regulations Thursday, July 12, 2001 By Scott Deacle, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Officials in rural Penn Township south of Butler are zoning in on a club they say swings too far outside their land-use rules.
Township land use administrator Clinton A. Bonetti sent a zoning violation notice yesterday to Jeffrey R. and Kathleen Reitz, operators of Private Parties, a club township officials say is an adult business catering to swingers -- particularly married couples who have sex with other couples.
The township bans adult businesses in commercial districts like the one on Route 8, where township Manager Greg Primm says Private Parties hosts gatherings in a modest one-story house with white siding.
The Reitzes, who are listed at an Edgewood address, did not return phone calls seeking comment. But the club's Web site offers a glimpse of what may happen inside.
Visitors are warned not to think "that it's one big orgy where you walk in the door, toss off your clothes and then jump right in -- doing whatever you feel like doing with whomever you feel like doing it with."
After "a bite to eat, a dip in the hot tub, some dancing and chatting in a sexually charged environment, the two of you will go home and have some of the most mind-blowing, supercharged sex you've had in years!"
Or couples may, after some dancing and touching, engage in "full partner sharing with a complete exchange of partners."
The site emphasizes visitors should not feel pressure to do things they don't want to do. Rule one under "Private Parties House Rules" says anyone may refuse any request, and the supplicant must honor the refusal.
The same set of rules also advises visitors to "Always let your mate/spouse know they're number one!"
Partygoers must be at least 21 years old and single men are not allowed without a date, according to the site. "If we were to accept reservations from single men, our parties would have more men than women and the ladies out there would feel totally overwhelmed."
The Web site says Private Parties does not serve alcohol or offer overnight accommodations.
If the private parties at Private Parties don't stop, the township could fine the Reitzes $500 per day. After they receive their notice of violation, which the township sent by certified mail, the Reitzes may appeal to the township's Zoning Hearing Board within 30 days.
The ambiance outside the club also has caught the eye of township officials.
The property violates the township's junk storage ordinance because as many as 16 unused vehicles, a trailer and various vehicle parts sit in the rear, the township informed the Reitzes in its notice. The Reitzes must remove the vehicles within five days of receiving the notice or face fines of $300 per day.
The Reitzes also failed to submit a required storm water management plan before paving their driveway earlier this year, according to the notice.
In June, before realizing what happens inside the Reitzes' house, the township denied Jeffrey Reitz's request to build a swimming pool there. Township zoning forbids swimming pools in commercial districts unless they're being sold by a swimming pool dealer.
Private Parties, which calls itself "the one place in southwestern Pennsylvania where you can go to meet others who share your interests in swinging," tries to remain discreet. No signs at the house advertise the club. The Web page warns: "Everything you see here, everything you hear here, must remain here when you leave."
The club has no membership fee, according to the Web site, but visitors are asked to make "a nominal donation" to offset costs. Primm said he has evidence that the club charges all visitors.
Primm said the township is not targeting Private Parties just because it's sex-related. The township allows adult businesses in areas zoned for light industry. Most of Penn's light industrial zones are in remote areas, although one sits about 300 yards from Route 8.
"In the appropriate district, [Private Parties] would be allowed," he said.
The township has received no complaints about disturbances at the club, Primm said.
In interviews, several neighbors said the house is quiet during the week. On Saturday nights, visitors arrive around 8 p.m. and stay until about 3 a.m.
Word has been out for several months about the goings-on inside, said Arlen Schmidt, a Clinton resident who works next door at Tim's Auto Body Shop.
"I don't want to see this stuff around," Schmidt said. "If nothing else, it's a temptation to people who would have never thought of doing something like that."
Although local governments by law must allow adult businesses somewhere within their borders, Butler County residents and governments have often found ways to thwart them.
In 1995, Cranberry forced an adult bookstore to close after citing it for building and fire code violations.
In 1988, Butler County Citizens for Decency, an anti-pornography group, raised money to buy a building that housed an adult bookstore in Penn. The group evicted the business and bulldozed the building, which sat along Route 8 a few hundred yards away from where Private Parties is now.
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