Town-Owned Home to Be Demolished

is working to demolish an old, empty house the township owns before potential issues arise on the property.

"I have grave concerns about vagrants going in there to keep warm in the winter," Township Administrator Victor Canning said Tuesday about the Harbeson property.

The property was purchased by the township in 2004, according to Assistant Township Administrator Adam Brewer. But the 1,000-square-foot residential structure on the property was not immediately razed when the township purchased the property. Brewer said the initial intent was that the property could be used by the for training, although it has not been used.

"[The property] has fallen into a state of relative disrepair," Brewer told the township committee Tuesday.

Funding is available to the township through the Open Space Trust Fund to demolish the home and the township would not need to have public hearings to move forward with the project, Brewer said.

"It was never really used in the first place and we are authorized to raze it," he said.

Department of Public Works (DPW) Director Tom Mazzaccaro said his department is exploring whether there is an oil tank on the property that would be of concern to the township. The DPW is also working to locate the septic system on the proerty.

Mayor Tim Braden estimated that the home was built in the 1930s, although the property is by the township committee and township's Historic Preservation Review Commission.