“De facto” land taking could cost Phila. dearly later
“For developer Greg Ventresca, eight acres of green, undeveloped land in Philadelphia’s Roxborough neighborhood seemed like the perfect place for 48 new houses.
The spot was zoned residential. It already had water and sewer lines. A small street traversed it.
All that was missing was for Cinnaminson Street to be paved and extended. A simple fix with a city paving ordinance – or so Ventresca and his three partners figured when they purchased the plot for $500,000 in 2005.
Nine years later, the land remains undeveloped and tied up in court. It has become the subject of a rare ruling: A judge says the city “de facto” took the land from its owners, by not paving the road and trying to delete it from city plans.
Unless overturned, the ruling stands to cost taxpayers a pretty penny. They would be paying, in part, for what City Hall did not do.
Cities must pay owners for such takings. In this case, the owners want more than $2.5 million.
City Councilman Curtis Jones Jr., who represents the area, did not introduce the requested paving ordinance, and without a street, Ventresca and his partners could not build, so they sued. It was a “de facto eminent domain” suit, rarely used against cities because of what an expert says is the difficulty of proving the case.”
Vargas, Claudia. Philly.com 12 July 2014.