The county plans to advertise its intent to condemn part of Lauxmont Farms.
By TERESA ANN BOECKEL
Daily Record/Sunday News
York Daily Record/Sunday News

Alecxih withdrew his request that Chester County Judge Lawrence E. Wood reconsider his decision or grant a new hearing on the condemnation, according to court papers filed Monday.

Monday also marked the deadline for Alecxih to appeal the judge's ruling to a higher court. Nothing was filed as of the end of the day.

Alecxih referred questions to his attorney, Mike Davis, who could not be reached for comment. But Tim Ruth, the county's special counsel for the park project, said: "They told me they are not going to appeal."

Meanwhile, York County officials planned to advertise an ordinance in today's newspapers that they will condemn nearly 411 acres of Lauxmont Farms in Lower Windsor Township for the proposed Susquehanna Riverlands Preservation Project.

They also intend to vote Wednesday on borrowing $11 million in short-term financing to acquire the land, President Commissioner Lori Mitrick said.

The loan would be at an annual, fixed interest rate of 3.90 percent, according to the proposed ordinance. The principal on the loan must be paid in full upon maturity on Dec. 1, 2008.

Chuck Noll, the county's chief clerk/administrator, said officials hope to pay off the loan when grants for the project roll in. How much interest there will be depends on how much is drawn down and how much remains outstanding.

The proposed condemnation of Lauxmont Farms would include the proposed Native American site, an area south of the dairy barn, and some small parcels along Long Level Road and near Highpoint.

Commissioners will hold a hearing on the proposed condemnation at 10 a.m. Nov. 23, the day before Thanksgiving. They could vote to take the land at the same meeting.

Ron Kohr Jr., whose late parents own Lauxmont Farms, made one statement Monday: "I guess the way Lori Mitrick and Doug Kilgore negotiate is by eminent domain."

Mitrick said she is "hopeful we can enjoin in good faith negotiations."

The condemnation does not include an area of farmland. It has been proposed for a development called Lakeside West to help pay debts remaining from the couple's decades old bankruptcy case.

Kilgore said they established some priorities for the park and determined that Lakeside West was not a priority.

The Kohr family "has repeatedly said that they are farmers, which I have some reservations about, but by all standards that is the most productive farmland that they own," Kilgore said.

Mark Platts, president of the Lancaster-York Heritage Region, said officials hope that the family places conservation easements on that land and continues with the farming operation.

Other areas of the farm that the commissioners intend to condemn also are planned for development.

For Highpoint, the issue now moves on to money, Ruth said.

Either side can petition the court to appoint a board of view. The board of view consists of three experts in the field of land valuation.

Or the parties can reach an agreement, he said.

The county's appraisal valued the land at $2.2 million. Ruth said he has not seen an appraisal from Alecxih.

Alecxih argued last year that the land is worth $17 million based on contracts he had written for two of the parcels he planned to build homes on before the county had taken the land.

Widener University Law School Professor D. Benjamin Barros said he isn't surprised that Alecxih did not pursue an appeal. Few appeals succeed, and recent court decisions supported the commissioners' taking of the land for a park, he said.

The money in most of these cases "is where the real dispute is," he said.

Reach Teresa Ann Boeckel at 771-2031 or teresa@ydr.com.

NEXT STEP?

Now that the deadline has passed to file an appeal on the condemnation of Highpoint, it's on to the money phase.

Either party can asked for a board of view to be appointed. A board of view consists of three experts in the field of land valuation. It usually consists of a lawyer and two other members who are real estate appraisers or engineers.

The board of view will hold a hearing, during which it will hear testimony that any of the parties involved in the case wish to make. The board will then issue a decision.

If either party objects to the board of view's assessment of value, he or she can appeal it in the Court of Common Pleas. A jury trial would take place.