§ 151.1. Definitions.
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
Acquired dwelling—A dwelling which has been acquired for a program or project by an acquiring agency.
Acquiring agency—An entity vested with the power of eminent domain by the laws of the Commonwealth.
Acquisition cost—General damages, or in the event of amicable acquisition, the price paid by the acquiring agency in lieu thereof.
Act—The Eminent Domain Code (26 P. S. § § 1-101—1-617.1).
Amount necessary to rent comparable decent, safe and sanitary dwelling—The actual rental paid by a displaced person for a decent, safe and sanitary replacement dwelling or the amount determined to be necessary to rent a comparable replacement dwelling, whichever is the lesser.
Business—A lawful activity, with the exception of a farm operation, conducted primarily for the following purposes:(i) The purchase, sale, lease or rental of personal or real property, or for the manufacture, processing or marketing of products, commodities or other personal property.
(ii) The sale of services to the public.
(iii) A nonprofit organization venture.
(iv) As qualification for damages under section 601-A (a), (b)(1) and (4) of the act (26 P. S. § 1-601A(a), (b)(1) and (4)) for assisting in the purchase, sale, resale manufacture, processing or marketing of products, commodities, personal property or services by the erection and maintenance of outdoor advertising displays whether or not the displays are located on the premises on which the activities are conducted.
Comparable replacement dwelling—A dwelling which meets the following standards:(i) Decent, safe and sanitary.
(ii) Functionally equivalent and substantially with same as the acquired dwelling with respect to number of rooms, area of living space, age and state of repair.
(iii) Adequate in size to accommodate the family or individual.
(iv) Located in a neighborhood or area not generally less desirable than that in which the acquired dwelling was located.
(v) Reasonably accessible to public services and the displaced person’s place of employment.
(vi) Available on the private market.
(vii) Open to persons regardless of race, color, religion or national origin in a manner consistent with Title VIII of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C.A. § 3601 et seq.) and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (43 P. S. § § 951—962) and regulations promulgated under those acts.
(viii) Within the financial means of the displaced person.
Decent, safe and sanitary—A replacement dwelling is decent, safe and sanitary if it meets the following standards:(i) It conforms with local building and occupancy codes.
(ii) It has a continuing and adequate supply of potable water.
(iii) It has a kitchen, which contains a sink connected to hot and cold running water, an adequate sewage system, space for a refrigerator and a utility connection.
(iv) It has an adequate heating system to maintain a 70°F or 21.1°C temperature in the living area not including bedrooms.
(v) It has a bathroom, which is well lighted and ventilated, private, containing a basin and a bathtub or stall shower connected to an adequate supply of hot and cold running water, and a flush closet, all in working order and connected to a properly functioning sewage disposal system.
(vi) It has a safe and adequate electric system.
(vii) It appears to a knowledgable person to be structurally sound, weather-tight, in good repair and adequately maintained.
(viii) It has a safe means of egress to open space at ground level. For multifamily buildings, each unit has access either directly or through a common corridor. For three or more story buildings, the common corridor shall have at least two means of egress.
(ix) It has habitable floor space, which contains 150 square feet of habitable floor space for the first occupant and at least 100 square feet for each additional occupant or 70 square feet for mobile homes.
(x) Rooms are adequately ventilated. The habitable floor space is divided into sufficient rooms so as to be adequate for the family, particularly with regard to bedrooms.
Displaced person—A condemnee or other person not illegally in occupancy of real property who moves his personal property as a result of the acquisition for a program or project of the real property, whole or in part, or as the result of written notice from the acquiring agency of intent to acquire or order to vacate the real property; and solely for the purpose of section 601-A(a), (b)(1) and (4) of the act (26 P. S. § 1-601A(a), (b)(1) and (4)), as a result of the acquisition or written notice of intent to acquire or order to vacate other real property on which the person conducts a business or farm operation. For the purpose of computing payments under Article VI-A of the act (26 P. S. § § 1-601A—1-606A) and the provisions of this chapter, members of a family shall be collectively regarded as a single displaced person.
Dwelling—A single-family building, a single-family unit in a multifamily building, a unit of a condominium or cooperative housing project, a mobile home or other residential unit which is the established, fixed, permanent or ordinary dwelling place of residence of a person, as distinguished from temporary and transient, though actual, place of residence. It is a person’s legal residence as distinguished from a temporary place of abode; or a person’s home, as distinguished from a place to which business or pleasure may temporarily call a person. In instances where the place of permanent and usual abode may be in question, consideration should be given, but not limited to, the following indicia of permanent residency:(i) The location in which a person is legally registered to vote.
(ii) The location which a person declares to be his residence and for the purpose of registration of his automobile and for the payment of Federal, State and municipal or local taxes.
(iii) The location in which the dependent children reside and attend the schools located within their assigned school districts.
Family—Two or more displaced persons, one of whom is the head of a household, plus all other individuals regardless of blood or legal ties who live with and are considered a part of the family unit. If two or more individuals occupy the same dwelling with no identifiable head of a household, they shall be treated as one family for replacement housing payment purposes.
Farm operation—An activity conducted solely or primarily for the production of one or more agricultural products or commodities, including timber, for sale or home use, and customarily producing the products or commodities in sufficient quantity to be capable of contributing materially to the support of the operator.
Loss of existing patronage—A decrease in net earnings.
Original cost of personal property to the displaced person—The amount paid by the displaced person for the personal property, as indicated in his business records. In the event of personal property which was obtained without cost or for which there are no records, the replacement cost of equivalent property at the time of sale shall be used.
Personal property—A tangible property not considered to be real property for purposes of general damages under the laws of the Commonwealth.
Program or project—A program or project undertaken by or for an acquiring agency as to which it has the authority to exercise the power of eminent domain.
Reasonable cost of a comparable replacement dwelling—The actual amount paid by a displaced person for a decent, safe and sanitary replacement dwelling or the amount determined to be necessary for the purchase of a comparable replacement dwelling, whichever is the lesser.
Replacement cost of equivalent property at the time of sale—The current market cost, including delivery and installation costs, of similar personal property, considering such factors as physical and economic depreciation and functional obsolescence.
Replacement dwelling—A dwelling purchased or rented and occupied by a displaced person as a result of the acquisition for a program or project of an acquired dwelling occupied by the displaced person, or as the result of written notice from the acquiring agency of intent to acquire or order to vacate the acquired dwelling.
Value in place of personal property—The value the personal property would have, installed in real property housing a going business, considering such factors as original cost, delivery and installation costs, physical and economic depreciation and functional obsolescence.
Source The provisions of this § 151.1 amended through June 20, 1980, effective June 21, 1980, 10 Pa.B. 2463. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page 18858.
Notes of Decisions Value in Place
The trial court erred when it determined that a retail jewelry business’s inventory had ‘‘value in place,’’ where the inventory, i.e., jewelry for retail sale, can easily be moved without substantially destroying or diminishing its value. MS Jewelers, Inc. v. Redevelopment Authority of the City of Philadelphia, 725 A.2d 1245 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1999); appeal denied 747 A.2d 372 (Pa. 1999).
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