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After a more than two-year court battle over how much the city would pay for two properties, Mann lost the structure that represented his income and his retirement.
At issue in the court case were two properties Mann owns, a three-story brick building that had been divided to become 243 and 245 W. Springettsbury Ave. York College wanted the structure to convert into student housing.
Two violent car crashes in 2001 and 2002 injured Mann so severely that he had to relearn to speak and walk. The 45-year-old now has a twitch, as well as a speech impediment that he struggles to overcome to be understood. During the time he was recovering, his property deteriorated.
In 2004, York College offered Mann $150,000 for both properties. He refused. He said he wanted $200,000, the amount the college had paid him and his uncle for other houses they owned on the block.
The path to eminent domain
With negotiations stalled, York College turned to York city for help. The city began proceedings to seize Mann's duplex, according to court papers.
Mann's attorney, John Ogden, didn't like the situation.
"A private college using the city as their agent to get a property doesn't seem quite right in my view," Ogden said.
The college said it was not using the city as an agent to get the
Ogden lost an earlier case when York County Common Pleas Court Judge Sheryl Ann Dorney rejected his argument that the college and city had colluded to condemn Mann's properties.
In a 2005 presentation, Ken Martin, dean of campus operations at York College, and Bob Kinsley, owner of Kinsley Construction and a York College board member, described the home as having inoperative electrical, heating and plumbing systems, chipping and flaking paint, a leaky roof and mold.
Urban development law requires that, before a city can take a property by eminent domain, it must be certified as blighted, said Matt Jackson, the city's redevelopment authority coordinator and economic development director.
The certification of blight must be approved by the planning commission, redevelopment authority and the vacant property review committee. Property owners have opportunities to appeal, Jackson said.
Mann received notice Jan. 14, 2005, that his West Springettsbury Avenue property had blight certified. He appealed that decision and lost on March 9, 2005, according to court papers.
On April 13, 2005, the redevelopment authority notified Mann it would be taking his property, and declared eminent domain in July 2005.
The agreement
York College President George Waldner and Henry Leader, chairman of the redevelopment authority, signed an agreement July 18, 2005, that after the authority obtained Mann's duplex, the college would buy it from the authority and build rental units for students.
Dave Salter, York College's spokesman, said, "We simply told the redevelopment authority if they could acquire the property, we would be interested in acquiring it from them."
He said the college views the West Springettsbury Avenue building across the street from the campus as a blight that could present problems.
The college agreed to reimburse the redevelopment authority the fair market value of Mann's properties as determined by a jury and all legal expenses, Jackson said.
Mann said Friday he felt like he was in a bad movie.
"It's pathetic what's going on here," Mann said. "This should never happen. It didn't have to happen this way."
After paying his legal expenses, Mann will receive about $128,000 for his property.
Civil lawsuit
Believing he was wronged because the city used eminent domain to take his building, Mann filed a federal lawsuit Aug. 31, 2006, against 10 defendants including York Mayor John Brenner, Kinsley, Jackson, the City of York and York College. He's hired attorney Don Bailey of Harrisburg to represent him.
The lawsuit claims the defendants unlawfully agreed to deprive Mann of his rights by using state authority to coerce him into compliance. It also claims that they retaliated against him for using the legal process to protect his rights. He's seeking damages for pain and suffering, humiliation, emotional distress and civil conspiracy.
The lawsuit is pending motions to dismiss, a U.S. Middle District Court clerk said Monday.
A kicker awaited Mann when he returned home after the trial.
He found the other notice of eminent domain on a city property he owns on South Queen Street. It's blighted, Jackson said.
"I just laughed," Mann said. "It's all so unnecessary. They could offer me a fair price. They are taking away my income and my retirement. I am just worn out."
Reach Caryl Clarke at 771-2032 or caryl@ydr.com.
