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Council conditions vacant-property approval on continued access to Dodto Street
Summary
Council approved a vacant-property recovery application from Susan Prim for adjacent tax-delinquent lots, making approval conditional on the applicant agreeing to preserve continued access for neighbors on Dodto (Dodto/Dotto) Street; staff discussed prescriptive easement and a process to dedicate the road to the borough.
Crafton Borough Council voted May 28 to approve a vacant-property recovery application from an applicant identified in the meeting as Susan Prim (of 276 Euing Road), subject to the applicant agreeing to allow continued access along the unimproved roadway known in the meeting as Dodto (variously transcribed as Dodto/Dotto) Street.
Manager Jim Price described the parcels as steep, tax-delinquent lots that could function as yard extensions for the applicant; he said Prim had commissioned surveys and that the county’s vacant-property recovery process would handle purchase if council approved the application. Price noted the properties had been tax delinquent for decades and that sale back into private ownership would return them to the tax rolls.
Council discussion focused on the fact that Dodto Street is not a recorded borough road. Staff described a prescriptive easement based on long public use and recommended ultimately accepting and dedicating the street as an official borough roadway to avoid ambiguity about ownership and access. Price recommended conditioning approval on a written agreement that Prim would permit continued access for the borough and other users, and council adopted a motion framed that way.
Council also discussed alternatives such as recorded easements and an ordinance process to dedicate the road; staff said surveys and possible easement language are part of the next steps and that the county handles the sale process. Council members noted that several properties use the unimproved way for access and that formalization would avoid future closures.
The motion carried with one opposing vote. Staff said the borough would likely wait until after purchase to take permanent action but could proceed earlier if council agreed. The borough also noted it already maintains the gravel way in practice and that accepting the road would create a formal maintenance responsibility but not obligate the borough to install utilities along the way.
Council did not adopt a final ordinance at the meeting; the action approved the applicant's request to pursue acquisition via the county vacant-property recovery program and recorded the council’s condition that the applicant allow continued access to Dodto Street.
