Man Claims Pine Township Caused $75,000 Worth Of Damage To His Yard
PINE TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) - A man says Pine Township caused $75,000 worth of damage when it tore up his yard to repair a retention pond.
Two years ago, Evan Gerson and his family purchased their dream home. It sits on woodsy acreage adjacent to North Park. But now that dream home has become a nightmare.
"It hasn't been a great welcoming to the community."
The trouble began when Pine Township hired a contractor to dredge a retaining pond near his home. Gerson says they tore out about 30 trees, tore up his land and left his yard eroding into the pond.
"Every time it rains, it does get worse. So we're hopeful they'll make this a priority and get it fixed."
Part of his back yard has become a swamp. KDKA's Paul Martino reports it was like walking through quicksand.
Not only that, Gerson says the Department of Environmental Protection found several violations in the retention pond work.
Among them: failure to submit a restoration plan, failure to stabilize the site and failure to comply with the permit.
And they were cited for discharging sediment into north park.
"We wish they would have done it right the first time."
To make matters worse, the contractor built an access road through North Park to work on the retention pond. They tore out more trees and tore up the land. But they failed to get permission from the county. The contractor has since gone back in, repaired that damage and planted new trees.
Now Gerson wants his land fixed too. He says it's approximately $75,000 worth of property damage.
Gerson will appear before the Pine Township board of supervisors on Tuesday. If he doesn't get any satisfaction, he's already hired an attorney.
