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York County authorizes eminent domain to acquire Hanover lot for 250th‑anniversary bell
Summary
The York County Board of Commissioners approved, as part of a consent package, using eminent domain to take an unclaimed 4,200‑square‑foot parcel at 220 North Railroad Avenue in Hanover for installation of one of six fiberglass bells marking the United States' 250th anniversary.
The York County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 1 approved using eminent domain to acquire a small, unclaimed parcel at 220 North Railroad Avenue in Hanover to install one of six fiberglass bells marking the United States' 250th anniversary.
Chief Clerk Dahl told the board that county staff identified the site as an "orphan plot of land" currently used as a small parking lot of roughly 4,200 square feet and that a title search found no owner of record. "We found a property, in Hanover. It's located at 220 North Railroad Avenue...our research there's no owners of record," Dahl said during the meeting.
Dahl and other staff said the bells are being placed in six locations across the county to reach communities throughout York County's roughly 911 square miles and that the Hanover site was selected because it is close to the public library and convenient for visitors. "We wanted to position the bells in an area that was easy to get to for the public, for our community, and for visitors," Dahl said.
A commissioner present advised that eminent domain is not a routine tool for the board but said it was the remaining option when staff could not locate a property owner. "So it's not something that the Board of Commissioners likes to use on a regular basis. But for this... because there's no owner of record, we are gonna use eminent domain to take that property," the commissioner said.
The board approved the action as part of a motion to adopt and approve agenda items 1 through 31 submitted at the meeting; the motion passed by voice vote. The agenda packet lists the bell installation as agenda item 17 and notes the county's participation with an outside 250th‑anniversary program referenced in the discussion.
The meeting record does not specify subsequent steps such as the amount of compensation to be offered, a separate hearing date, or the legal citation authorizing this specific eminent domain action. County staff said only that staff conducted a title search and that the lack of a recorded owner left eminent domain as the county's remaining avenue for establishing public use on the parcel.
The decision closes the board's discussion of the site selection; implementation steps, appraisal and acquisition paperwork, and any required public notices were not specified on the record.
