Heavy handed leverage. That’s what a retired real estate lawyer said.
And Radnor Township is trying to wield the ultimate thug tool against with Wayne Presbyterian Church, eminent domain. And given this is for the Wayne Business District, this in my humble opinion, this makes it eminent domain for private gain. That’s bollocks.
Can we talk about how combative and rude Commissioner Jack Larkin is? I guess his life experience over the past couple of years has not taught him to be kind or humble. He should discover both qualities, after all pride goeth before a fall, Commissioner Jack Larkin. Try being pleasant and not a bully.
If Radnor Township was acting in good faith, they would not have enacted an eminent domain ordinance, and it is pretty much that god damn simple. And they are doing this against a church.
I have not had such distrust of Radnor Township since Dave Bashore was the manager and that is saying something. Radnor needs to clean house again from commissioners to manager. There are few things that upset me more than eminent domain. I know the realities of it. First hand. We saw it in Ardmore. We saw it Coatesville. We saw it in Long Branch, NJ. We saw it in New London, CT. Just ask the Institute for Justice.
You know what is worse then eminent domain for private gain? Eminent domain for public purpose that really has private gain driving it. And THAT is what Radnor is attempting which is why I categorize as really being about private gain. And in Radnor’s meeting last week, the Wayne Business Association said they support the actions of Radnor Township.
I can tell you as long as an eminent domain ordinance lurks against a church in Wayne, no one I know will be going to Wayne to even buy a cup of coffee.
A relatively newer resident spoke up, after hearing this. Not sure why he was at the meeting, but hooray for common sense:
And then there was Commissioner Jack Larkin’s grandfather I guess it is. Even HE said eminent domain was wrong. So Larkin listens to no one except himself on this it seems, so will grandpa’s thoughts matter?
This is another bad plan from Radnor Township. They seem to be making these bad plans more and more consistently.
Radnor residents and supporters of Wayne Presbyterian Church and haters of eminent domain? The clock is ticking. get those card and letters and emails and calls going and attend the meetings. This is wrong, and what is not wrong after all these decades is the church wanting to see more revenue.
Here is Radnor’s staff directory: https://www.radnor.com/government/staff-directory
And oh by the way? This meeting also had some updates about the Willows? Radnor Township should take the neighbors’ noise concerns seriously and so should the caterer in residence. I don’t think much of them anyway. I won tickets to a pop up dinner with them once, and they never honored it. I won it during COVID, end of 2019, early 2020 and it ultimately got postponed and then they essentially ghosted me. Actually I think the Willows is a hopeless mess and that is a subject for another day and it is so sad. And what about the cottage? No one ever wants to talk about that debacle and waste of a one time restoration.
Back to Radnor Township being a municipal bully. Here is the SAVVY or it all plus an article from Main Line Times. Read both and remember: eminent domain is a thug tactic, not a form of negotiation. No more Wayne for me until this is settled. Eminent domain has no gain.
A separation of Church and State in Wayne? Radnor Township makes moves to seize Wayne Presbyterian Church property. But talks have resumed.
October 21, 2024 / By Caroline O’Halloran /
Radnor Township has taken the first step toward seizing by eminent domain the parking area it leases from Wayne Presbyterian Church (WPC), a sizable section of the large Station Ave. municipal lot.
Radnor Commissioners voted 4 to 1 at their Oct. 14 meeting to move forward with an ordinance (below) that would authorize the township to file a “declaration of taking” in the Delco Court of Common Pleas in November.