53 P.S. § 1339 Acquisition of Additional Land; Eminent Domain; Procedure

• Library: Pennsylvania Statutes
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through P.A. Acts 2023-21
• Year: 2023
• Citation: 53 P.S. § 1339

If it shall be deemed necessary by the county commissioners and the corporate authorities of such city to acquire land for such building or buildings, then such county commissioners and corporate authorities are hereby vested with the necessary power and authority to acquire, in the name of such county and city, in such proportions of undivided interest as may be agreed upon, by purchase, condemnation, or otherwise, any and all such real estate, either vacant or occupied, as the respective authorities may deem necessary to furnish a suitable site or sites for such building or buildings, and to sell, convey, transfer, dispose of, or abandon the same, or any part thereof, as the county commissioners and the corporate authorities of such city may determine.

Whenever the county commissioners and the corporate authorities of such city cannot agree on the terms of their purchase with the owner or owners of any real estate that has been selected as aforesaid, such county commissioners and corporate authorities, after having decided upon the amount and location thereof, may enter upon, take possession of, and occupy such land as may have been selected, and designate and mark the boundary lines thereof, and thereafter may use the same for the purposes authorized by this act.

The funds which are raised by taxation in such county and city shall be pledged, and hereby are made security, to the owner or owners of any property taken for the purposes aforesaid for all damages they may sustain on account of the taking of such property. The title to all real estate acquired by condemnation proceedings, as herein provided for, shall be vested in such county and city in fee simple.

When the county commissioners and the corporate authorities of such city shall enter upon and occupy lands for the purposes herein authorized, they, or the owners of such premises or any one of them in behalf of all of them, may present a petition to the court of common pleas of the county in which such land is situated, setting forth the facts, giving a description of the premises taken by metes and bounds, and the names of all the owners thereof; whereupon the said court shall appoint a jury of viewers, and shall fix a time for a hearing, when they shall view the said premises. Said time shall not be less than ten nor more than thirty days after their said appointment, of which time and place, five days' notice shall be given by the petitioners to said viewers and other parties interested. If on account of non-residence, or for any other reason, personal notice cannot be given, notice of such view shall be given as the court may direct.