LAWRENCE COUNTY Officials to create plan for property

The city will take the land in October if sales agreements are not made.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- The Lawrence County Redevelopment Authority has agreed to create a plan that can be used to take property by eminent domain for a proposed high-tech business park.
The redevelopment plan for Millennium Park in Neshannock Township should be ready sometime next month, said Linda Nitch, executive director of the Lawrence County Economic Development Agency, a group working with the county to develop the park.
The plan will identify the reasons the property needs to be redeveloped, she said. Those reasons will include checking to see if the land is underused and if it complies with the county comprehensive development plan, Nitch said.
The redevelopment plan also must be approved by the Lawrence County Planning Commission and county commissioners.
Nitch said it will ultimately aid the authority if members decided to use eminent domain to take property identified for Millennium Park. About 500 acres bounded by Pa. Route 60 and Kings Chapel Road are part of the plan.
Eminent domain is the legal right of government to take or authorize the taking of private property. It is usually a last-ditch effort by government to get property, and fair compensation is usually given to the property owner.
Talking with property owners
Nitch said the authority has been negotiating with five property owners for the last six weeks for the land. One sales agreement has been made and she is working on the others.
Nitch said they have not been able to come to agreements with two property owners over price. The agency is only allowed to offer the land's appraised value.
Anyone who doesn't agree to sell by October will likely face eminent domain proceedings, Nitch said.
The land is key to the business park, where a semi-conductor company promising 1,200 new jobs has shown interest in locating.
Gov. Ed Rendell has promised $15 million to help bring sewers, waterlines and roads to the site. Another $15 million has been promised by several local municipalities and Lawrence County.
The redevelopment authority also hired the Pittsburgh law firm of Hollinshead, Mendelson, Bresnahan & amp; Nixon to handle any eminent domain matters. The firm will be paid $135 an hour.
cioffi@vindy.com