LAWRENCE COUNTY Eminent domain weighed to get high-tech park land

The plan is likely to be on the agenda of the Oct. 14 commissioners' meeting.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- County commissioners are considering a plan that would give the county's redevelopment authority power to take private land for the multimillion dollar Millennium Park.
Commissioners received the redevelopment plan for about 1,200 acres off King's Chapel Road and Pa. Route 60 in Neshannock Township. The plan has already been approved by the county planning commission and redevelopment authority.
Commissioners are expected to have a hearing in a few weeks to garner public comment on the issue. They may vote on the matter at their Oct. 14 meeting.
Most of the property for the high-tech park has been acquired, but two landowners are not negotiating, said Linda Nitch, executive director of the Lawrence County Economic Development Corporation, the agency handling land acquisition.
Two sales agreements with private home owners have been executed and another one is pending, she said. Another agreement with the Lawrence County Sportsman's Association is also pending, Nitch added.
The redevelopment plan will give the county redevelopment authority the right to take the land by eminent domain. Eminent domain is the government's right to take private property, usually in exchange for fair compensation.
The high-tech park is being considered by a semiconductor company promising about 3,000 jobs.