Latrobe is looking to take over ownership of a blighted residential property in the town’s North Side that the city initially condemned last year.
Now vacant, according to the city, the mobile home at 219 E. Second Ave. has overgrown trees bordering its walls.
City council recently moved to confirm the condemnation and directed Solicitor Lee Demosky to begin proceedings in Westmoreland County Court to acquire the property under the state’s Eminent Domain Code.
Council said the property is in violation of several city codes because of vermin infestation, lack of proper lighting, ventilation and sanitation facilities, and “general unsanitary and dangerous conditions.”
The city, in a supporting resolution, noted its intention of using grant funds to obtain such properties “in order to eliminate blight, preserve the value of property located close to blighted properties and incentivize proper upkeep of structures and land within the city.”
Demosky said the city is able to pursue eminent domain for blighted properties. The first step will be filing a declaration of taking in the county prothonotary’s office.
“Eventually it will end up before the Westmoreland County Board of Viewers, and they will determine what the value is of that particular parcel,” Demosky said. “It’s a complex process.”
He explained the three-member board — typically including an attorney, a real estate professional and a civil engineer — will hold a hearing at the city municipal building and will visit the property before making a decision on the fair market value.
Either the city or the property owner could appeal that decision to the county court.
On Aug. 19, Latrobe issued a notice of condemnation to then-resident Anthony P. Cannon, describing the home as “a public nuisance and unfit for habitation.”
City officials said Cannon is no longer at the property and they don’t know where he is staying. TribLive was unable to find a way to contact Cannon.
The city based its condemnation on an Aug. 19 inspection of the property and the opinions of two Westmoreland County crisis workers. The notice indicated the home was found to be vermin-infested, structurally unsafe and unsanitary, “creating a serious hazard to the health and safety of the occupants and of the public at large.”
The city requested remedial action: emptying and cleaning the home, having an exterminator treat it, removing the vegetation surrounding it and making repairs, including to the front and back porches. That never occurred and the owner didn’t file an appeal with the city within the established two-week time period.
Two neighbors, who didn’t want to give their names, said they’d experienced no vermin straying onto their properties. But they noted the poor appearance of the home.