Surprise! Borough's Owned Part of N.J. Ave. Since '77

The last time anyone gave much thought to who owns the narrow stretch of New Jersey Avenue between Wilson Avenue and Apple Street in Hellertown was apparently when platform shoes, disco balls and bellbottoms were all the rage.

That was the message implicit in a revelation by Borough Engineer Bryan Smith at Hellertown Borough Council's June 20 meeting, when a discussion about the narrow "cartway" commenced.

The discussion arose because of the borough's sidewalk ordinance, which requires installation of sidewalks where there are currently none when a property's ownership is transferred.

When a house at 1411 New Jersey Avenue was put up for sale recently, the question of where a sidewalk would need to be installed was broached, which led Smith--of Barry Isett and Associates--to research the history of deeds in the vicinity.

In doing so, he told council, his office discovered that the borough has deeded ownership of a 30 to 33 foot wide section of New Jersey Avenue that was once owned by Bethlehem Steel and provided the original access to .

The length of the section of road the borough owns is approximately 420 feet, and the fact that it's deeded by the borough is somewhat unusual, Smith said.

Typically, he explained, streets are publicly maintained rights of way, rather than fee simple property owned by a municipality.

The borough was deeded the section of New Jersey Avenue by Bethlehem Steel in 1977, but by then most of the houses along it had already been built.

Smith said a survey would be needed in order to establish where the lines separating private property along the road from the borough's property are located.

Installing sidewalk would necessitate widening the road, and upgrading this section of New Jersey Avenue would be costly, he told council, estimating that sidewalk, curb and road improvements would cost about $250,000, and stormwater management would cost another $250,000.

"There would be some significant cost to upgrade it to a full street," he said.

Councilwoman Stephanie Kovacs balked at the suggested price tag, telling Smith, "This is not $250,000 worth (of work).... That's stupid."

Council Vice President John Bate agreed.

"I just don't see it being practical," he said of developing the section of street.

However, Zoning and Codes Enforcement Officer Joe Chernaskey requested that council at least approve funding the site survey to determine where the property lines are located.

"If one of those houses sell across the street, we're going to be right back here doing this all over again," he said, with reference to the real estate transaction that brought the issue to bear in the first place.

"It would at least be in the best interests of the borough to know where their property stands," he added.

Borough Manager Cathy Kichline agreed, and recommended to council having a survey done "just to clarify" where the property lines are.

In the meantime, she suggested that Borough Council Solicitor Michael Corriere could draw up a letter waiving the sidewalk requirement in that area until the borough would develop the road according to modern specifications.

A motion to put the cost of a site survey--estimated at about $2,000--in the borough's 2012 budget was approved by council by a vote of 4-2.

Another motion to waive the sidewalk requirement for the property at 1411 New Jersey whose sale is pending was approved 5-1, with Kovacs voting no.

Councilwoman Gail Nolf was absent from the meeting.

In the motion, council acknowledged that the installation of sidewalk there is not financially feasible at this time, due to the fact that the road would need to be widened and upgraded in order to allow for it.