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

The Federal Reserve recently adopted provisions prohibiting mortgage brokers from coercing, influencing, or otherwise encouraging an appraiser to provide a misstated appraisal in connection with a mortgage loan. The provision, which comes in the form of a “Final Rule,” was supported by the Appraisal Institute, American Society of Appraisers, American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers and the National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers.

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The Marshalls Creek Bypass Project continues to create controversy.  Last week, the Northeast Pennsylvania Alliance Board – known as NEPA – voted 13-7 during a special meeting to reject a four-year state transportation funding plan.  The biggest reason it rejected that plan was because it lacked funding for the Marshalls Creek Bypass.  According to press accounts, it is the first time in memory that officials recall the NEPA Board – or any other regional board that reviews transportation funding priorities in Pennsylvania – voting against adoption of a four-year funding plan.  As the Pocono Record reported, “This has not happened before," said NEPA Alliance CEO Jeffrey Box. "It's reflective of the concern the NEPA Board has for numerous transportation projects in all our counties."  The Pocono Record article can be found at www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article

PennDOT has been planning the Marshalls Creek Bypass Project 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. It has been broken up into phases and has been put on hold while PennDOT redesigns part of the project.   Stay tuned.

 

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Funds for widening Route 202 on the section of the highway that runs from near Route 29 to the Exton Bypass will be delayed until at least 2011. The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission voted 17-1 to wait until 2011 to begin releasing the PennDOT funds needed to widen this section of the highway. PennDOT’s current plans for this section – known as “Section 300 – anticipate expanding from four to six lanes. It appears that this delay is another example of budget concerns being felt at PennDOT. PennDOT made a decision this year to focus its funding on projects involving bridge repairs.

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