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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Express Times Picks Up on Nazareth Hall Deed Restriction

Yesterday, I told you Nazareth's proposed municipal building violates a restrictive covenant prohibiting buildings within seventy-five feet of West Center Street. In fact, its current Council chambers, a small building at Nazareth Hall Park, was built in violation of that restriction. The Express Times today published its own report concerning the deed restriction by a real reporter.

Nazareth Borough Solicitor Al Pierce is actually reported as saying the current building is located at least seventy-five feet away from the curb. Did he measure it? What the hell is he smoking? Al, do yourself and the rest of us a favor and measure the distance from the south curb line of West Center Street to the current building. It's no seventy-five feet. You don't even need a measuring tape to realize that. And by the way, Al, why are you advocating this relocation? I always thought borough solicitors were there to give legal advice, not engage in municipal planning. Silly me!

When I first discovered the deed restriction, I talked to Borough Council members Jack Herbst and Cindy Werner. Neither was aware of the restriction. Now, thanks to the Express Times report, we know that Councilmen Mike Kopach and Larry Stoudt were also in the dark. Councilman Davis knew about the restriction, but was also under the mistaken impression that the current building is at least seventy-five feet from the curbline. Thus, at least five out of nine Council members either did not know about the restriction at all, or had been misinformed that the current building was within that restriction.

Councilman Mike Kopach, when told about the problem, said it best: "Everybody else has to abide by deed restrictions. Why wouldn't the borough have to?"

3 comments:

Chris Casey said...

Have you considerd trying out for that strange tv show Super competition I read about in the Morning Call? The one where regular folks put on Superhero costumes and pretend they have Superpowers? the paper says some of the would be contestants are called "Monkey Woman","Fat Momma", and "Ty Veculous". I guess the "Psychotic Blogger", and "Internet Idiot" did not make the cut for the show. What would your cape and costume look like Bernie? You are definitely a Superhero to the kids, present and future, of Nazareth!

Chris Casey said...

On the other hand, what kind of Villain would someone like McClure be?

Bernie O'Hare said...

Hey Chris, I'm a title searcher and get daily reminders about just how many mistakes I make. It is nauseating. Not very good for the ego. And the longer you do it, the more you learn about mistakes made 5 or 10 yrs ago.

But you're right on point - this IS about the kids. I know something has to be done about the cramped quarters at Nazareth's current location, but the kids shouldn't suffer. And if they lose more park space, Nazareth might soon find that it needs more cops. Kids need an outlet.

Tnaks for the nice words. Believe me, there are many Nazareth residents who are much more involved than me. I could recite a list of about 30 people who are more involved.