30 Pa. Commw. 273 | Pa. Commw. Ct. | 1977
Opínion by
Goodwill Industries of Central Pennsylvania, Inc. (Goodwill) appeals here from an order of the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County wherein Goodwill’s preliminary objections to a declaration of taking filed by the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Harrisburg (Authority) were overruled.
The properties owned by Goodwill which were condemned by the Authority are located in the Uptown section of the City of Harrisburg, an area extensively flooded by tropical storm Agnes in June of 1972. . Following the flood, a portion of this section was surveyed by the Harrisburg City Planning Commission, and the Commission subsequently declared the sur
Preliminary objections in a condemnation case serve a broader purpose than preliminary objections filed under the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure,
In its first objection, Goodwill alleges that the action of the Authority in condemning the Goodwill property was arbitrary and capricious because the area of the city involved in the Penn-Susquehanna plan is not blighted. It argues first that the project area contains such minimal blight that condemnations under the redevelopment plan are unjustified, and also that the Authority acted arbitrarily in producing a redevelopment plan which involved only a portion of the area of the city which had originally been certified as blighted by the City Planning Commission.
The scope of judicial review of a certification of blight is a limited one. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court stated in Crawford v. Redevelopment Authority, 418 Pa. 549, 554, 211 A.2d 866, 868 (1965):
The power of discretion over what areas are to be considered blighted is solely -within the power of the Authority. The only function of the courts in this matter is to see that the Authority has acted not in bad faith; to see that the Authority has not acted arbitrarily; to see that the Authority has followed the -statutory procedures in making its determination; and finally, to see that the actions of the Authority do not violate any of our constitutional safeguards.
The record here discloses that the certification of blight was the result of a survey by employees of both
Goodwill’s contention that the Authority acted arbitrarily in producing a redevelopment plan which involved only a portion of the area originally certified as blighted is equally without merit. Section 10(d) of the Urban Redevelopment Law, 35 P.S. §1710(d), provides that an Authority may prepare a plan for the redevelopment of all or part of an area which has been certified as blighted. Moreover, the record discloses that a limitation in the amount of available federal aid necessitated a reduction in the site of the redevelopment program.
Goodwill argues finally that the declaration of taking filed by the Authority was defective in that it failed to set forth the purpose of the condemnation as required by Section 402(b)(3) of the Eminent Domain Code, 26 P.S. §l-402(b) (3). This section requires that a declaration of taking must contain a brief description of the purpose of the condemnation, and the declaration of taking filed by the Authority plainly stated that the Goodwill properties were located in an area which had been certified as blighted and that they
The order of the lower court is affirmed.
Order
And Now, this 23rd day of May, 1977, the order of the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County, overruling the preliminary objections of Goodwill Industries of Central Pennsylvania, is hereby affirmed.
Act of May 24, 1945, P.L. 991, as amended, 35 P.S. §1701 et seq.
See Pa. R. O. P. No. 1017.
Act of June 22, 1964, P.L. 84, as amended, 26 P.S. §1-101 et seq.