SEVEN FIELDS — For a second time, Club Leaf & Bean on Monday sought a positive recommendation from the planning commission to open a private cigar bar.

And, for a second time, the planning commission rebuffed its request.

The members-only cigar lounge initially sought approval from the borough in October, but borough council, following the planning commission's recommendation, did not amend its zoning ordinance in a manner that would allow Club Leaf & Bean a conditional use as a private club. The business would operate from the former site of Hines Ward's Table 86 restaurant.

Now, three months later, the club applied for conditional use as a retail establishment, arguing the bar fits neatly under the definition in the borough's zoning ordinance.

“They had a different interpretation of the code,” said Kenneth Foltz, an attorney representing the club. “We were then engaged, took a look at the code and have a different interpretation of the code, that the retail definition within the code fits the business purposes and the practices that probably would be operating at that location.”

The commission disagreed.

Following a conditional use hearing, the planning commission voted unanimously to recommend denial of the club's application, saying its principal use is closer to a private club. Club Leaf & Bean's founder, Mark Zini, said the retail space would be open to the public for fewer than 40 hours per week, while the club would be open 24/7 to members.

Zini said the club would be staffed by one employee during the time it would be open to the public, and not staffed when it was not. Sarah Karasack, a planning commission member, said the one employee would not bring the club within the confines of the zoning district in which it would be located.

“(In) the purpose of the planned economic development district, one of the points in there is to 'create employment opportunities for the residents of the borough,'” Karasack said. “It sounds like you're going to be one person, less than 40 hours a week.”

Club Leaf & Bean previously had been approved in 2015 in Cranberry Township for a site on Ehrman Road under the conditional use of a nightclub, but Zini said Seven Fields presented a better business opportunity for the club.

Because planning commission recommendations are not final, the club can have its application heard by borough council, which has the right to follow or disregard the commission's recommendation.