When the Petersburg Borough sells land assessed at more than $500,000, that sale has to go to a public vote. An ordinance before the Petersburg Borough Assembly would amend Petersburg’s municipal code to increase that cap to two million dollars. The public will be able to weigh in on the ordinance at its second reading during the next Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting on Monday, March 4.
Assembly member Scott Newman proposed the change to municipal code. During the first of three readings at the Borough Assembly’s February 5th meeting, Newman said that the public has plenty of opportunities to share their views with assembly members, and it shouldn’t be necessary for smaller land sales to go to a public vote.
If people want to express their opinion, they can come to the meeting, they can see us on the street, give us their input,” he said. “We represent the public, and everybody that I talk to gets heard and influences my opinion on things. That’s the process. So we’ve been voted in to be able to make decisions like this. And it’s for the best interest of the community.”
Newman explained that the borough has been negotiating a land sale with Petersburg’s tribe, the Petersburg Indian Association, or PIA. The tribe had planned to purchase eight acres of borough land along Petersburg’s 8th Street for a housing development. The land was assessed at $1.3 million dollars, which, according to current municipal code, would require a public vote during the municipal election in November. The sale is now on hold.
Assembly member Donna Marsh made a motion to amend the ordinance by decreasing the proposed cap to 1 million dollars.
“500,000 to 2 million [dollars] is significant,” she said. “Both figures are a pile of money. And I think it would be in the best interest of the citizens of Petersburg, to have more of a say on such large amount valued parcels.”
The cap hasn’t been raised since 1990. With inflation, $500,000 is worth more than $1,200,000.
Assembly member Thomas Fine-Walsh said he didn’t think a cap of one million dollars was high enough, with inflation and the increased cost of land.
“You know, $500,000, 1 million dollars isn’t buying as much land as it used to,” he said. “So it’s important to update our codes to reflect that so that, you know, we’re able to move efficiently and keep things running here smoothly.”
He said smaller sales should be able to move ahead without having to wait up to a year to go to a public vote. But he stressed that he thinks it is important to have limits on the value of land that the assembly can dispose of without a public vote, since the sale of large pieces of land could have a transformative effect on the community.
The amendment to the ordinance failed 4-1 with Marsh in favor. Some assembly members said they’d like to hear from the public before deciding whether to decrease the proposed cap.
The ordinance passed 4 to 1 in its first reading, with member Marsh not in favor.
The assembly will also need to decide whether property value will be determined through an assessment or an appraisal. All borough property is assessed for property tax purposes. Property is often appraised before it goes up for sale. Appraisals take market conditions and similar sales into consideration, and appraised values are generally considerably higher than assessed values. The assembly would also have to decide whether the buyer would be required to pay for the cost of the appraisal.
The borough assembly will take public testimony about the proposed change during the next Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting on Monday, March 4, at noon. The ordinance will have a third and final reading at 6 p.m. on March 18.
