(9/15) At its September 13 meeting, Carroll Valley Borough Council dismissed action for the swapping of a borough owned lot with an adjoining property. The owner was looking to establish an access point for their residence through the lot to allow them to bypass Friends Creek Trail during flooding.
The lots that were being considered involved a .54-acre tract owned by Friends Creek Trail residents, Michael Capone and Mary Jo Vincent, at 66 Ranch Trail and the Carroll Valley .64-acre lot at 82 Tom’s Creek Trail.
While original appraisal reviews found both parcels to be of approximately equal value – estimated at $4,000, a subsequent appraisal conducted by a certified residential appraiser indicated a value of $14,500 for the property the borough would be swapping to Capone, Borough Solicitor Zachary Rice said.
Rice was uncomfortable that the council was not given sufficient documentation to prove the properties were of equal value and was concerned the council would be in violation of the Pennsylvania Borough code if the lot trade request was granted.
Prior to making its decision, the council opened the floor for further public comment on the proposed lot swap. Comments received paralleled last month’s comments with residents raising concerns that the swap would bring increased traffic and logging.
In response, Capone said he was disappointed in the nature of comments. The access point is not intended to be a major roadway, but merely a way for the property owners to access their residence at times when the creek floods, Capone said.
"There’s been a lot of untruths said and I’m not saying they’re saying untruths on purpose, they just don’t know all the information… We’re just trying to do something for a safety issue, a way to get in and a way to get out of our property during flooding conditions," he said.
Following the public comments, Rice suggested that the Council consider offering Capone & Vincent limited resident easement access of the lot, but with the borough still maintaining control and ownership.
How the council responds to this request does not set precedence on how it must respond in any hypothetical future situations, as the council is permitted to exercise discretion in terms of what is deemed appropriate; "and that sometimes means handling different matters in a different fashion," Capone said.
Based on Rice’s recommendation, the council approved a motion to decline the lot swap offer, and instead directed staff to evaluate how a right of way through a borough owned parcel would happen, and what conditions will be applied for the council to consider.
"I think it’s a good compromise that allows us to be good neighbors," Councilmember David Lillard said.
