Problems persist in Majestic Hills neighborhood
A court order is fining the developers of the beleaguered Majestic Hills housing plan in North Strabane Township and requiring the company to make immediate repairs to hillsides in the neighborhood that continue to shift and are leading to sewer line breaks.
Washington County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Lucas on Wednesday ordered Joseph and Shari DeNardo through their JND Properties LLC to begin repairing a hillside that is affecting several homes and a sewer line or face a $1,000 per day fine until the problem is corrected.
In addition, JND must pay the township $275,000 for previous on-site monitoring, along with the costs for legal fees through the most recent litigation.
The problems surrounding the Majestic Hills development and the neighborhood’s sliding hillside in June 2018 that led to the condemnation of multiple homes in the housing plan are well documented and have led to numerous lawsuits. However, this week’s order following a previous consent agreement between the developer and the township and state environmental regulators revealed that problems still persist.
The township and state Department of Environmental Protection raised concerns in late 2021 about continued ground movement that could still be detected, leading to a consent order at the time to fix the problem. The DEP determined in January 2022 that the repairs as proposed by JND would not fix the problem, finding the plans to be inadequate. In April 2022, an underground sewer line servicing 250 homes in the development separated, prompting JND to install a bypass pump.
A new plan was submitted in May 2022, which the DEP approved, and the construction was expected to begin in July 2022 and be completed by that October. But when the final plans were submitted, the township and DEP claimed there were fewer materials and less overall construction proposed than what was agreed upon earlier, prompting concerns about future slides.
Joseph Denardo also claimed that his company had to turn off the bypass pump because of possible bankruptcy proceedings, which led the township supervisors to declare an emergency disaster declaration in June 2022. The township then filed an emergency motion for injunctive relief and a finding of contempt on July 1, 2022, leading the court to mandate that JND continue operating the pump.
JND had been under a consent order since October 2021 to fix the continued problems at the site, which Lucas said the company violated.
“There can be no orderly and effective administration of justice if parties to litigation do not comply with court orders,” Lucas wrote in his decision. “Here, the DeNardos knowingly tendered a false promise that JND could timely formulate and implement the repairs and remediation necessary to eliminate the catastrophic environmental hazards that exist in the Majestic Hills Development. The DeNardos’ gamble has jeopardized the health, safety and welfare of many innocent residents in the Development.”
He ordered JND to begin making immediate repairs Wednesday and face a $1,000 fine every day until it is “satisfactorily complete” according to an approved DEP repair and remediation plan. The fine money will be paid into an escrow fund and must be disbursed to the DEP and township every 30 days with first payment due Aug. 11, should JND not complete the work before then.
If North Strabane Township is required to perform the remediation work itself, then it can seek compensation from JND. Lucas also ordered that the DeNardos are prohibited from dissolving their assets in order to avoid their financial responsibilities.
In a written statement, North Strabane Township Manager Andy Walz lauded the ruling and said municipal officials will continue working to ensure the situation is rectified.
“North Strabane Township is committed to protecting the health, safety and welfare of our residents,” he said. “Compliance with all applicable regulations and agreements by all parties in our community is necessary to achieve this commitment, and this order by the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County takes a critical step to ensure there is accountability for all the residents of North Strabane Township.”
North Strabane solicitor Gary Sweat and JND attorney David Valencik could not be reached for comment Friday.