Luzerne County Council reevaluating unused county-owned land sale in Butler Township

Luzerne County Council is reevaluating a proposal to sell unused county-owned land in Butler Township.

Intermittently discussed as an option to bring in revenue and boost the tax base for nearly two decades, the proposal could now be a reality because a tentative subdivision has been prepared. Council had agreed to keep approximately $100,000 in the county engineering department’s 2023 budget to proceed with a survey and subdivision.

Aware of county interest in a sale, township officials altered the zoning of the county-owned land last summer as part of a comprehensive township-wide rezoning. This change carved out agricultural zones and switched some spots from urban residential to suburban residential to allow single homes on individual lots instead of high-density housing units, officials have said.

Because more county funds would be needed to finish the last phase of the subdivision request to the township, county Manager Romilda Crocamo has asked council for a decision on how to proceed.

Crocamo said during Tuesday’s work session the plans are at a juncture, and she does not want to invest additional funds in the proposal if council is not supportive.

“Before I approve another dime, I want council’s input on how we’re going to move forward on this,” Crocamo said.

Councilman Jimmy Sabatino, a Butler Township resident and restaurant co-owner, said he is against a sale and heard from numerous township residents opposing the plan since council’s work session agenda was publicly posted last week.

The county owns approximately 530 acres in the township because it operated the Kis-Lyn work camp for juvenile delinquents from 1912 to 1965. Portions cannot be sold, including land locked into long-term leases for the Ferrwood Music Camp (17.8 acres) and the Keystone Job Corps Center, which operates a federally funded, residential educational/vocational program on 122.9 acres, officials have said.

Sabatino, who took office this year, said he believes any surplus county land should remain undeveloped or be used for farming leases or recreational purposes, such as expanding the music camp.

“It’s a detriment if we sell this land to be developed. We’re hurting the farmers, and we’re hurting these students that go to the music camp,” Sabatino said.

Councilwoman LeeAnn McDermott, who has been advancing the land sale as chair of council’s real estate committee, said land currently farmed must remain agricultural under the township’s zoning. The camp would remain at its leased site and could purchase additional land from the county to expand beyond the acreage it is leasing if it can secure funds, she said.

McDermott said she has remained in contact with township officials about the county proposal and said it would be up to the township to decide whether it would grant a subdivision.

Township zoning requires three-quarters of an acre for a residential structure, she added.

“Nobody wants anything in their backyard, but if you’re talking about putting a couple of beautiful homes on several acres of land to increase their tax income as well as the county’s, then I don’t see that anyone should really be upset about that,” McDermott said.

She estimated the county could receive $1 million from land sales there.

“It’s just sitting there. We’re not making any money off of it,” McDermott said.

Councilman Harry Haas, who previously served on council and returned this year, said he and his council colleagues were forced to “find every nickel and dime in the cushions of the car seat and the living room furniture” during the early years of the home rule structure due to inherited fiscal problems.

“I don’t think that’s what’s driving this discussion tonight. I don’t think we’re so cash-strapped that we need to just get rid of this. I think that would be very poor long-term vision,” Haas said, citing a 2023 audit report presented during the work session that he believes was the “best I’ve seen in 12 years of home rule.”

Haas said the township has “lots of green space” and that its county-owned land should be treated like a “great gem” and kept, as the county did with the Wyoming Valley Airport in Forty Fort and Wyoming.

Sabatino said it would be “shortsighted” to sell the land and noted additional “million dollar homes” won’t address the need for affordable housing in the region.

Several other council members — Vice Chairman Brian Thornton, Kevin Lescavage, Joanna Bryn Smith and Patty Krushnowski — expressed support for some of Sabatino’s arguments.

Christopher Bentz, a civil group manager at Benesch, presented the proposed subdivision his company has prepared through the county engagement, which included surveying associated with seven deeds covering the entire site.

Pressed by council to supply an estimate on the cost to finish the subdivision process, Bentz said he can’t provide a firm figure because it would depend on what additional information is required by the township engineer. He guessed at a range between $10,000 and $50,000.

Council Chairman John Lombardo said further research and discussion will be required before council votes on the matter at a future meeting.

Several township residents attended Tuesday’s work session as a show of opposition to the plan, with one saying development is changing the township from a rural community to a suburban one and causing other negative impacts.