Residents hold out hope of developing properties
Chance of building new homes hinges on completion of road
BY JESSICA SMITH
Staff Writer

MILLTOWN - An unfinished road has left several property owners at a dead-end.

Though the two unconnected portions of Leonard Road have been that way for years, the possible ceding of a borough-owned easement to two Harkins Road residents would preclude the road from ever being completed, thereby preventing four Ryders Lane property owners from developing portions of their lots.

"If they don't allow that residential building on our properties, it's not worth anything," Steve Stetzko, a resident, said.

Stetzko, who for 52 years has owned the Ryders Lane property where he and his wife Margaret live, would like to have the ability to sell rear portions of his lot for residential development. The possibility always existed for the road to be completed for this purpose, but when Stetzko heard talk of the borough possibly ceding the easement to the residents, he decided to speak up.

"If they give that piece of that street away, the property can never be developed," Councilman John Collins said. "They have buildable lots. Why would you want to stop people?"

Built in the 1960s when development cropped up off Blueberry Drive, Leonard Road crosses Blueberry Drive, then cuts off on both ends. Another small portion of it, the one in question, runs off Harkins Road, ending by Rita's Italian Ice shop.

Stetzko said three or four homes could be built behind the four properties there, which are zoned commercially for the 200 feet that start at Ryders Lane, and residentially from that point back.

According to Stetzko, his neighbor who owns the strip mall next door tried in vain several years back to build a house on the back of his lot. The borough would not give up the right of way, or allow for sewer lines to be connected there, he said.

The borough-owned easement is located behind the 7-Eleven convenience store and is home to a large tree. Mayor Gloria Bradford said the concept of ceding the small piece of land to the residents came from a homeowner's desire to have the tree removed.

"He just wanted that tree down," Bradford said. "That's all he wanted."

According to Bradford, the Shade Tree Commission said the tree is healthy and should not be taken down. In searching for options, the resident said he and an adjacent property owner would be willing to maintain and pay taxes on the easement if the borough wished to cede it to them.

"It doesn't make any sense for the town to give land away," Collins said. "My philosophy is, instead of raising taxes, why not put it on the auction block?"

Collins pointed out that the resident suggesting the easement be ceded to him only moved in two years ago, while the Ryders Lane property owners have been there for much longer. Since whoever was chosen by the landowners to develop the property there would be responsible for putting in the road and sewer, he said, the residents should have the right to do what they want with their land.

"I do feel sorry for the people back there," Bradford said, adding, "nothing is ever out of the question."

Stetzko's daughter, Karen Albretson, also a Milltown resident, said it seems that borough officials are not concerned about the town's historic sites being developed, nor about what she sees as excessive commercial development along Ryders Lane. At the same time, she said, they will not allow her parents and other residents in that area to build homes on their land.

Bradford disputed Albretson's claims.

"We do not allow reckless development," Bradford said. "All development has to go through many steps of approval. If and when it comes to the time when something might be done with Leonard Road, it would go under the same type of scrutiny."

Stetzko said he is not looking for any problems, but he would like to know that he could someday see a return on the investment he has made on his land.

"I intend to stay here as long as I can take care of the place," Stetzko, 82, said. "This is like my long-term-care insurance."