Middletown Township v. Lands of Stone

MAJORITY OPINION

Chief Justice CAPPY.1

At issue in this matter is whether Middletown Township, a township of the second class, properly exercised the power of eminent domain in taking the Stone farm to provide public recreational space under the Second Class Township Code, 23 P.S. § 67201, when the Open Space Lands Act, 32 P.S. § 5008, prohibits second-class townships from exercising eminent domain in order to preserve open space. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that a second-class township has the authority to condemn property under the Township Code, for any legitimate recreational…