County asks high court for hearing

STAFF REPORT

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — The Lawrence County Redevelopment Authority is petitioning the state Supreme Court to hear a case over property that’s been in litigation since 2004.

At the center of the eminent domain dispute are two parcels of land in Neshannock Township off King’s Chapel Road, 83.79 acres belonging to Thomas and Christie Whittaker, and 2.35 acres belonging to the estate of Dr. David Hamilton.

The redevelopment authority has been trying to take the land through eminent domain — a government’s right to force the sale of property for public use — since 2004 so it can be part of Millennium Park, a 500-acre high-tech business park.

The authority had negotiated purchases for four additional parcels of land to make up the park, said Jim Gagliano, head of the authority.

The authority, appointed by the county commissioners, filed condemnation papers on the Whittaker and Hamilton properties in 2004, and the property owners appealed, contending that the authority hadn’t followed proper procedures in the declaration of taking.

The authority had declared the land “economically blighted” because it is in an industrially zoned area and better used as industrial rather than residential property. The Whittakers’ residence is on the property. The Hamilton estate has a house, garage and a small orthodontic lab, according to Vindicator files.

Court papers filed on behalf of the property owners stated that the county failed to enact an ordinance establishing a blighted property review committee, and the committee did not inspect the properties to determine if they were blighted. The lawsuit also contended that the property owners were not notified that their land was determined blighted and did not have the opportunity to appeal that determination, according to Vindicator files.

Lawrence County Common Pleas Judge Thomas Piccone ruled in June 2007 that the authority did act properly because the properties were economically blighted.

But the property owners appealed that decision to the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, which overturned Judge Piccone’s decision in December.

Gagliano said the Supreme Court petition was filed Jan. 15. The court will decide whether to hear the case.