Pennsylvania Eminent Domain Lawyer & Attorney : Fox Rothschild Law Firm : Condemnation, Real Estate Valuation : Philadelphia, Bucks County, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell announced a plan to repair 1,145 bridges across Pennsylvania. The list and a county-by-county map of all the bridges are available on PennDOT’s Web site at www.dot7.state.pa.us/RebuildPA/Main.htm

Rendell has asked the General Assembly to approve this plan which he estimates will require state funding of an additional $200 million a year for three years, to be combined with federal road repair funds. The "structurally deficient" bridges include 91 in Southeastern Pennsylvania including 35 in Bucks County, 26 in Chester County, 15 in Montgomery County, nine in Philadelphia, and six in Delaware County. Most are smaller bridges.

It is unclear at this time whether the General Assembly will approve this project. According to press accounts, Senate Republicans acknowledged repairs were necessary but expressed reluctance to borrow more funds. This issue will likely by an important part of budget negotiations.

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PennDOT has been planning a project known as the “Marshalls Creek Bypass” for many years. It is aimed to alleviate gridlock at the bottleneck of Routes 209 and 402 in Smithfield and Middle Smithfield townships, Monroe County Pennsylvania. PennDOT has already acquired some properties for this project and was sent to acquire more properties when it decided to put the project on hold in April.

I represent some of the property owners that will be impacted by this project and spoke with a PennDOT representative about its plans. PennDOT still intends to go forward with the project. However, it is revisiting some of its plans to determine if there are ways to cut costs.

It appears that we will know more about PennDOT’s plans later in the summer or early fall.

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The Pennsylvania House Urban Affairs Committee recently approved legislation intended to give municipalities and others more power to deal with blighted and abandoned properties. The legislation, House Bill 2188, would provide a way for municipalities, lien holders or other interested parties to petition the courts for the appointment of conservators to take control of and rehabilitate blighted or abandoned properties. In addition to municipalities and lien holder, the interested parties could include school districts, residents, or business owners within 500 feet of an abandoned building.

The conservator could make necessary repairs and sell the building if the owner does not petition to regain possession or reimburse for all costs. Conservators would be exempt from the repayment of debts incurred by the previous owner or any damage to the property that existed prior to their appointment as conservator.

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Eminent domain remains a popular campaign issue. John McCain recently repeated his criticism of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Kelo decision.  In Kelo, the Court held that the use of eminent domain to acquire property for “economic development” was not unconstitutional.

On May 6, 2008, McCain reiterated his feelings during a speech regarding his judicial philosophy and said:

The year 2005 also brought the case of Susette Kelo before the Supreme Court.  Here was a woman whose home was taken from her because the local government and a few big corporations had designs of their own on the land, and she was getting in the way.  There is hardly a clearer principle in all the Constitution than the right of private property.  There is a very clear standard in the Constitution requiring not only just compensation in the use of eminent domain, but also that private property may be taken only for "public use."  But apparently that standard has been "evolving" too.  In the hands of a narrow majority of the court, even the basic right of property doesn't mean what we all thought it meant since the founding of America.  A local government seized the private property of an American citizen. It gave that property away to a private developer.  And this power play actually got the constitutional "thumbs-up" from five members of the Supreme Court.

Eminent domain is likely to remain a local and national topic during this campaign year. 

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The Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority – which regularly uses its power of eminent domain – will have a new chairperson.  Labor Leader John Dougherty, who recently lost his bid for State Senate, announced that he will step down as chairman of the RDA.  His term was not slated to end until early next year.  The stated reason for his resignation is to provide Mayor Nutter, who took office this year,  with the opportunity to select his own chairperson.

Dougherty was appointed to the RDA chairmanship shortly after Mayor John Street took office in 2000.  Dougherty was a major supporter of Street and did not support Nutter in last year’s primary.

The RDA was very active during the Street Administration.  It was the main governmental vehicle for his anti-blight program, the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative.  It regularly used its power of eminent domain and condemned thousands of parcels of property citywide.

Mayor Nutter has stated that the authority will play an important role in his administration.  However, he has not provided many details.  Nutter said he would appoint a successor to Dougherty and fill an existing vacancy on the five-member board as soon as possible.

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One concern I hear consistently expressed by appraisers is that there are times when they are pressured to reach a certain number when appraising properties.  Congress is considering legislation that prohibits all parties involved in a real estate transaction from improperly influencing an appraiser.  The legislation is part of an amendment to pending foreclosure prevention legislation known as the Federal Housing Administration Housing Stabilization and Homeowner Retention Act (H.R. 5830).  On April 24, the U.S. House Financial Services Committee agreed by voice vote to add the amendment to H.R. 5830.

The goal of the amendment is to ensure an independent and competently performed appraisal process.  It has been backed by the Appraisal Institute and has bipartisan support in Congress. However, the future of H.R. 5830 is uncertain.  It authorizes the FHA to guarantee billions of dollars worth of refinanced loans if lenders reduce loan amounts to reflect reduced home values.  The measure would require banks to make less money on the loans but it would also reduce their credit exposure, while helping families stay in their homes.  According to the Appraisal Institute, discussions are underway in the Senate on companion legislation to H.R. 5830, where several other questions will likely be addressed at the committee level, including what property standards (FHA or conventional) will be applied to the appraisals and who will actually order the appraisal.

It would be naive to think that this legislation would eliminate all improper behavior.  However, it is a step in the right direction even if it serves to draw attention to this serious problem.

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