In re Condemnation by the Manheim Township School District

75 Pa. D. & C.4th 158, 2005 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 74
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Lancaster County
DecidedSeptember 26, 2005
Docketno. CI-04-02479
StatusPublished

This text of 75 Pa. D. & C.4th 158 (In re Condemnation by the Manheim Township School District) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Lancaster County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Condemnation by the Manheim Township School District, 75 Pa. D. & C.4th 158, 2005 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 74 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2005).

Opinion

PEREZOUS, J,

This matter is before the court on preliminary objections filed by the condemnee, Robert G. Ulrich, against the declaration of taking filed by the condemnor, Manheim Township School District. Specifically, the condemnee contends that the school district cannot exercise the power of eminent domain in this case because: (1) the school district has not provided sufficient justification for the taking and, thus, has not established legal “necessity”; and (2) the conversion of the property to a “non-agricultural use” conflicts with state policy. The condemnor, however, [160]*160contends that there is no conflict with state policy, and that the condemnee has failed to show that the school district abused its discretion or acted in bad faith in condemning a portion of the condemnee’s property. For the following reasons, this court overrules the preliminary objections.

This case arises from the planned renovation of Manheim Township School District’s Neffsville Campus. The campus includes a middle school, high school and an elementary school. It also includes athletic fields that support educational and extracurricular programs. As the campus expanded over the years, a “myriad of twists, turns and roadways” were put in place to accommodate internal traffic circulation. Presently, there are four points of ingress and egress on the campus. On the north side, there is a two-way access off of Oregon Road. A second two-way access is located off of Route 501 on the west side of the campus. On the south side, there is a one-way entrance off of Valley Road with residential and commercial properties on each side. Farther to the west on Valley Road is a one-way exit that is directly adjacent to the elementary school. Another entrance off of Valley Road goes directly to the bus facilities. Via these routes, it is possible for a vehicle to go from one point of entry to any other point of access.

In 2001, the school district examined the efficiency and safety concerns exacerbated by the existing roadways and traffic conditions in connection with its plans to renovate the campus. Previous actions taken by the school district to address these concerns included placing speed bumps at various locations on the school roadways, modifying the traffic flow based upon the timing [161]*161of students and others entering and leaving the campus, and limiting the traffic on the roadway next to the elementaiy school to one-way exiting traffic. As part of the renovation of the campus, the school district asked ELA Group, the civil engineers on the project, to review the current traffic conditions and propose alternatives for consideration by the school district.

This review identified a number of problems created by the present configuration of the roadways on and around the Neffsville Campus. The present traffic conditions at the campus, in terms of safety and proper traffic flow, were said to be unsafe and inefficient. In order to address these concerns, ELA Group considered two groups of alternatives: (1) maintaining the current access points in their present locations and making improvements at those locations; and (2) three options for changing the access on Valley Road. In reviewing the alternatives, ELA Group considered existing traffic conditions, safety and efficiency, the nature of the improvements that would need to be made, the school district’s proposed land development plan, the impact on adjoining properties, the potential for the loss of houses and businesses and the costs to the school district.

Regarding the first alternative, testimony at the evidentiary hearing revealed that improving the existing access points off of Valley Road would not correct the problems created by the existing roadways. Assuming the existing entrance off of Valley Road was improved, the resolution of unsafe conditions, such as the congestion and 90-degree turns, would require relocation of the stadium and tennis courts. Moreover, the entrance and exit would remain very close to the elementary school [162]*162and would still go through the bus maintenance facility. In the school district’s opinion, this alternative was not acceptable because it would not resolve the safety concerns or remedy the traffic flow issues on the campus itself. With respect to this alternative, ELA Group concluded:

“The separation of bus traffic and other vehicular traffic should be a goal of the school district to promote safety and orderly traffic flow. The first alternative considered does not address this separation. The first alternative results in greater cost ($1,350,000) to the school district and impacts more homes, and may require the taking of four properties, further increasing the overall cost.” Summary of findings, school district exhibit no. 7 at p. 4.

Under the second alternative, ELA Group considered potential locations for a new access off of Valley Road. In making its determination, the ELA Group examined the safety implications of each design, the traffic flow, the levels of service at each intersection, the cost and impact on surrounding neighborhood properties of any improvements that would need to be made at each intersection and the number of homes that would need to be acquired. The ELA Group concluded that the most feasible location for a new access was the Ulrich tract because it is an open field, provides direct access to the high school, as opposed to the circuitous route required by the present road configuration, and is located east of the stadium and tennis courts. No demolition would have to take place, and no wetlands or streams would be crossed. With respect to this alternative, the ELA Group concluded:

[163]*163“The second alternative ... ensures separation of bus traffic from other vehicular traffic and should be significantly less to construct the required improvements ($800,000). Fewer properties are impacted than in the first alternative and may require only two properties to be purchased.
“It is our opinion that the second alternative is the best alternative for the school district. Within the second alternative, option 2B [referring to the Ulrich tract] is likely to be the best option, since it impacts the fewest properties and only requires the purchase of one property or the purchase of a right-of-way across the property.” Id.

Expert testimony at the evidentiary hearing revealed that the best and most feasible option for the school district was relocation of the access way. The expert testified:

“In my opinion, for safety purposes and safety alone, the access drives that are currently being used must be remedied.
“My opinion is the only way to remedy those and make that access off of Valley Road safer is the relocation of that access drive.
“Again, we’re talking safety of elementary school students. We’re talking safety of high school students that have to drive through the maintenance operation, bus maintenance operation, to get to and from or actually from Valley Road into the school district or the school parking.
“We’ve got several [90] degree turns that we’re dealing with. We’ve got a pinch point that is going to be very difficult to widen.
[164]*164“For all of those reasons, I believe that the proposed access would be a much safer and a much more efficient access to the school properly.” N.T. 6/24/2005 at p. 68.

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Bluebook (online)
75 Pa. D. & C.4th 158, 2005 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 74, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-condemnation-by-the-manheim-township-school-district-pactcompllancas-2005.