Hempfield supervisors on Monday tabled a request from Greensburg officials to use eminent domain to get easements on two township properties for a planned flood control project.
Supervisor Doug Weimer said the board wanted more information from Greensburg about how the project would benefit Hempfield.
Greensburg officials have been working with property owners for months to secure easements along an unnamed stream that runs parallel to Glenview Avenue in the Northmont neighborhood. It flows mostly through backyards and goes underground before connecting to Jacks Run near Lynch Field.
Greensburg planning director Alec Italiano discussed the project and eminent domain request with Hempfield supervisors last week.
Letters were sent early in 2025 to owners of properties that would be affected by the proposed project which will involve the construction of culverts and U-channels along the stream. The work will be funded through a state grant.
The majority of property owners have OK’d easement agreements. Greensburg council has approved $12,000 in total payments for easements in past months to three property owners.
Negotiations have been continuing with five remaining property owners, including the two in Hempfield, as of earlier this month in hopes to avoid eminent domain. Greensburg council introduced a bill in February that would give its solicitor authorization to file a declaration of taking at the Westmoreland County Courthouse. That matter will be up for a final vote in March.
“This is a last resort, we don’t want to have to do this taking,” Italiano told supervisors.
The five remaining easements are on properties on New Alexandria Road, Albert Way and Northmont Street. The Hempfield properties are neighbors on New Alexandria Road (Route 119) — a home at 449 and the land where Gino’s Pizzeria Lynch Field is located. The stream runs in between the two parcels and then goes underneath the road.
The easements are needed for construction and then maintenance of the work, Italiano said. Greensburg will handle the entire project, including the work and maintenance on the Hempfield sections.
“We’re trying to increase the capacity that this channel has so when you do get those 100-year floods, you’re protecting all the property along this channel, not just at the mouths,” Italiano told supervisors.
Flooding has been happening in that neighborhood for decades, according to city officials and Trib archives.
Properties where easements were being sought are on Roosevelt Way, New Alexandria Road, Harvey Avenue, Albert Way, Kenneth Street, Kenmore Avenue, Northmont Street and Oakhill Avenue. Some are in Hempfield.
Supervisor George Reese said he hoped negotiations work out and eminent domain ultimately isn’t needed.
“In my opinion, the need is much greater than the ask and I hope it works out because you’re real close to the finish line here,” he said.
