Pennsylvania’s Abandoned and Blighted （宾夕法尼亚州的废弃和枯萎）.pdf

Pennsylvania’s Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act Implementation and Best Practices Manual By John Lyons, Esquire, Fels Fund Intern Judy F. Berkman, Esquire, Managing Attorney Regional Housing Legal Services 2 South Easton Road Glenside, PA 19038 (215) 572-7300 December, 2009 Disclaimer: This manual only provides general guidance. Please consult an attorney for legal advice. I. Introduction The new PA Conservatorship Law is a potentially expeditious way for non-profits to eliminate a spot of blight in a key location without acquiring the parcel via condemnation. It is also a tool for municipalities, and owners of neighboring residential and commercial properties, to remediate blight at an adjacent property. The goal of Regional Housing legal Services during the summer of 2009 was to work on implementation of the conservatorship law by drafting a Project Manual. Our goal was exceeded, since the results of our work include a new General Court Regulation issued by the First Judicial District, together with sample pleadings that the Court has posted online for use of conservatorship petitioners in Philadelphia County. RHLS hopes this Project Manual will be a useful toolkit to: • evaluate a property as a candidate for conservatorship, • gather all pertinent facts and documents, and • enable legal counsel to prepare a conservatorship petition for e-filing. There is a great deal of excitement about being able to use this new law to address long blighted properties. But the process is complex and not suitable for many blighted properties. Before reading the Project Manual in detail, h