Appeal from Ordinance No. 550 of the Borough of Beaver

60 Pa. D. & C.2d 30, 1972 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 56
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Beaver County
DecidedDecember 21, 1972
Docketno. 1309 of 1972
StatusPublished

This text of 60 Pa. D. & C.2d 30 (Appeal from Ordinance No. 550 of the Borough of Beaver) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Beaver County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Appeal from Ordinance No. 550 of the Borough of Beaver, 60 Pa. D. & C.2d 30, 1972 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 56 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1972).

Opinion

KLEIN, J.,

This is a statutory appeal from enactment of Ordinance No. 550 of the Borough of Beaver vacating a portion of Galey Boulevard Extension, a street in said borough, under and pursuant to the Act of February 1, 1966, P. L. (1965) 1656 (no. 581), sec. 1741, 53 PS §46741. Petitioners are C. C. Torp et ux. and William O. Baker et ux., owners of property abutting said street. An answer to the petition was filed by the Borough of Beaver and Ronald K. Walker et ux., the latter being neighboring abutting property owners along said street.

The petition alleges that the borough is without authority to vacate said portion of said street for two reasons. First: That the proposed vacated portion is the sole means of access to the properties of petitioners and petitioners have not consented to the vacation; and, second, that said street connects with a street of another municipality and said municipality has not filed an approval of the proposed action.

APPLICABLE STATUTES

The following provisions of The Borough Code, 53 PS §45101, et seq., are cited in the instant action.

Section 1704, 53 PS §46704:

“No action shall be taken under this article that would result in the change of location or grade, or the vacation of any street or portion thereof that connects with a street of another municipality or township, without approval of the court of quarter sessions of the county in which such municipality or township is located, unless such municipality or township shall itself first file with the borough secretary its approval of such proposed action.”

Section 1741, 53 PS §46741:

“Any borough shall have authority, by ordinance, to vacate or close any street or portion thereof pro[32]*32viously opened or laid out, but no street or portion thereof providing the sole means of access to any lot or tract of land shall be vacated unless those to whom access would be denied shall consent. No such ordinance shall become effective until thirty days after the enactment thereof. .Within ten days after the enactment of any such ordinance, the borough shall give personal notice to the owners of all property abutting on the street or portion thereof so proposed to be vacated. If any street or portion thereof proposed to be vacated shall be on a recorded plan, the borough shall also give personal notice of the proposed vacation thereof to all owners of property appearing on such plan. During such thirty-day period between the enactment and taking effect of such ordinance, any interested party may petition council for a hearing, which council shall hold within thirty days after the date of such petition, and of which the borough shall give at least fifteen days' notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the borough. Any such petition shall serve to stay the effective date of such ordinance, until council shall have held such hearing and shall have acted upon such petition by motion, or, in case of further appeal, until the court shall have finally disposed of the matter. After such hearing and within thirty days after action by council upon such petition, any party aggrieved by council's action thereupon may appeal to the court of quarter sessions.”

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Petitioners, C. C. Torp et ux., are the owners of Lot No. 8 in the Galey Park Plan of Lots in the Borough of Beaver, Beaver County, Pa., having acquired the same on August 19, 1941. The deed was recorded on August 26,1941.

[33]*332. Said plan is dated July 15, 1941, and was entered of record in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds of Beaver County, Pa., on January 20,1942.

3. The plan showing Galey Boulevard Extension as a plotted street was accepted by the Borough of Beaver on October 14, 1941. Said Galey Boulevard Extension had not been previously opened or projected as a public street by the borough.

4. Petitioners, William O. Baker et ux., are the owners of lots 5, 6 and 7 in said plan having acquired the same on December 30, 1952. Lot no. 7 adjoins lot no. 8 in said plan.

5. Respondents, Ronald K. Walker et ux., are the owners of lot no. 9 in said plan and adjoining real estate situate in the Township of Brighton, Beaver County, Pa. Lot no. 9 adjoins lot no. 8 in said plan.

6. Ordinance No. 550 of the Borough of Beaver, enacted on May 9,1972, ordains as follows:

“All that portion of Galey Boulevard Extension, a forty foot street lying within the Galey Park Plan (Plan Book Vol. 5, page 112), bounded and described as follows, shall be and the same is hereby vacated. The portion being vacated is bounded and described as follows, to wit:

“All that certain portion of a forty (40) foot street, known as Galey Boulevard Extension, bounded on the south by Lot Eight (8) in said Galey Park Plan; on the north by the fine dividing the Borough of Beaver and the Township of Brighton, twenty (20) feet on each side of the center line. Said center line of the vacated portion being more particularly bounded and described as follows: Beginning at a point in said center line at the fine dividing Lots Eight (8) and Nine (9) in said Galey Park Plan; thence by said center line North 6° 53' West, a distance of thirty (30) feet to a point; thence continuing by said center line North 0° 39' [34]*34West, a distance of Ninety-four and eighty-five (94.85) hundredths feet to a point; thence by said center line North 65° 05' West, a distance of Forty-two (42) feet to a point at the line dividing Brighton Township and the Borough of Beaver.”

7. Petitioners timely protested the enactment of the ordinance and pursuant to the above set forth statutory authority, a hearing was duly held before the borough council on July 11, 1972, and the matter determined adversely to petitioners. This appeal followed.

8. Petitioners Baker have access to their property via the system of public streets other than via the proposed vacated portion of the street.

9. The sole access to the property owned by petitioners Torp via the system of public streets is provided by the proposed vacated portion of Galey Boulevard Extension and the Torps have not consented to the proposed vacation. The Torp property is physically inaccessible from Market Street and Galey Boulevard although it abuts said streets and includes a portion thereof.

10. Galey Boulevard Extension in the Borough of Beaver connects with a small portion of Galey Boulevard Extension situate in the Township of Brighton, which portion is not a street of Brighton Township but which portion connects with Galey Boulevard in the Borough of Beaver and which latter street continues into the Township of Brighton for a considerable distance. The Township of Brighton has not filed an approval of the proposed vacation.

11. No property owner in the Township of Brighton would ever have occasion to use Galey Boulevard Extension in going to or from his property in such a way as to be affected by the proposed vacation.

[35]*3512. Galey Boulevard Extension is a 40-foot street on paper but much narrower in actual use as a street.

13. Respondents Walker, on July 18,1972, executed a “Declaration of Easements” granting a 20-foot right-of-way to petitioners over said proposed vacated portion of Galey Boulevard Extension, which easement and right-of-way is to run with the land, said lots 5, 6, 7 and 8.

14.

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60 Pa. D. & C.2d 30, 1972 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 56, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/appeal-from-ordinance-no-550-of-the-borough-of-beaver-pactcomplbeaver-1972.