A faulty septic system apparently has scuttled a Washington County couple's plans to establish the Church of Spiritual Humanism in a North Huntingdon house that until recently housed Swingers Palace, which township officials said was a sex club.

The Rev. John Ondrik, a nondenominational minister, will not appeal the North Huntingdon zoning hearing board's decision Oct. 14 to refuse to grant a special exception of a township ordinance that would have permitted operation of a church in the house.

A 30-day period to appeal the decision in Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court expired last Thursday.

Swingers Palace shut down shortly after township officials cited Jack Walkmeyer, a North Huntingdon resident who owns the house, for violating an ordinance that prohibits operation of a business in a residential area.

Mr. Ondrik and his wife, Kim, lease the house and operated Swingers Palace there. They subsequently applied for the special exception to operate a nondenominational church in the secluded home along Turner Valley Road.

The North Huntingdon zoning hearing board conducted a lengthy hearing regarding the application Sept. 7. It attracted a standing-room-only crowd.

The five-member board considered the merits of the request, then unanimously denied it. The decision was announced during the Oct. 14 board meeting.

Attorney Samuel S. Pangburn, of Washington, Pa., said Mr. Ondrik's decision not to appeal was influenced by a letter received Oct. 16 from township zoning officer Keith Evers stating that the house could not be occupied until a faulty septic system was corrected.

"Mr. Ondrik and his family could not live there with a faulty sewage system," Mr. Pangburn said.

Mr. Ondrik and his family moved out.

Mr. Ondrik is in the process of purchasing the property. The couple owns another home in Fredericktown, Washington County.

"The letter from Mr. Evers [about] the faulty sewage system was a factor in Mr. Ondrik's decision not to file an appeal," Mr. Pangburn said. "My client and I don't understand why he was sent the letter since Mr. Walkmeyer is the owner."

If the problem with the sewage system is resolved, will Mr. Ondrik move back in?

"Once the sewage matter is corrected, I know Rev. Ondrik wants to get back there," Mr. Pangburn said. "If that should happen, then my client will consider his options -- choose to live there, rent out the property or sell it."

The township has a municipal sewage treatment system, but the house has not been connected to it. The North Huntingdon Township Municipal Authority's Youghiogheny River Treatment Plant is about a quarter-mile west of the property.

Kate Petrosky, general manager of the municipal authority, said Mr. Walkmeyer has paid a $2,700 residential tap-in fee to construct a private line to connect to the municipal sewer system, but no permit has been granted. The line project would require a highway cut that must be approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, she noted.

"Mr. Walkmeyer paid the required tap-in fee, but before we could issue his permit, he called and told us everything is on hold," Ms. Petrosky said.