Pennsylvania Act 1805-57 — PHILADELPHIA - STREETS - WHARVES AND FENCES ALONG RIVER

Act text

PHILADELPHIA - STREETS - WHARVES AND FENCES ALONG RIVER
                  Act of Mar. 25, 1805, P.L. 160, No. 57              Cl. 11
        Section 1.  Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
     Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in General
     Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the
     same, That the court of quarter-sessions of the county of
     Philadelphia, on being petitioned to grant a view of or for
     opening any street, lane or alley, within the city of
     Philadelphia, shall have power, and by virtue of this act are
     directed and required, as often as they judge it useful, in open
     court, to order and appoint twelve discreet and disinterested
     freeholders, neither of whom shall reside or own real estate in
     the city aforesaid, who, being first sworn or affirmed, shall,
     together with the commissioners of the county for the time
     being, or a majority of them, view the ground proposed for
     opening such street, lane or alley, and if they, or any ten of
     them, view the said ground, and any seven of the actual viewers,
     exclusive of the county commissioners, agree that there is
     occasion for such street, lane or alley to be opened, they shall
     proceed to lay out the same, as agreeably to the desire of the
     petitioners as may be, in such manner as to do the least injury
     to private property, and shall make report thereof, stating
     particularly, whether they judge the same necessary, together
     with a plot or draft thereof, to the next court of quarter-
     sessions; and if then and there the court aforesaid shall
     approve of the same, it shall, at the next court thereafter, be
     entered on record, and thenceforth shall be taken, deemed and
     allowed to be a public street, lane or alley, compensation being
     first made to the owner of the ground or other property, as
     herein-after directed: Provided, That no street, lane or alley,
     so opened, shall, in any case exceed, fifty feet in breadth.
        Section 2.  And be it further enacted by the authority
     aforesaid, That on the return of the viewers reporting in favour
     of opening any street, lane or alley, as aforesaid, and the same
     being approved of by the court, at their next session thereafter
     to which the report is returned, the court shall appoint twelve
     discreet and disinterested freeholders, neither of whom shall
     reside or own real estate within the city aforesaid, who, being
     first sworn or affirmed, shall enquire what damages the owner or
     owners of lands, house, houses or other property shall or may
     sustain by reason of the same being taken, used and appropriated
     for the purpose aforesaid: Provided always, That it shall be the
     duty of the said freeholders in assessing damages, to consider
     the advantages which may accrue to the owner or owners of such
     lands, house, houses or other property by reason of opening such
     street, lane or alley.
        Section 3.  And be it further enacted by the authority
     aforesaid, That upon the return of valuation and assessment of
     damages, as aforesaid, for ground or other property taken and
     appropriated for public streets, lane or alleys, within the city
     aforesaid, and the court of quarter-sessions of the county of
     Philadelphia having approved the same, the amount of damages
     awarded, as aforesaid, shall be paid by the treasurer of the
     said county, and so soon as the said damages are paid, the mayor
     of the said city shall cause such street or other passage to be
     opened, agreeably, to the direction of the court: Provided
     always, That unless the same shall be paid within one year next
     after the return made by the viewers, all such proceedings as
     aforesaid shall be void and of no effect whatever.
        Section 4.  And be it further enacted by the authority
     aforesaid, That all streets, alleys, courts and lanes which have
     been heretofore laid out, opened and appropriated to public use
     by private persons within the city of Philadelphia, and all
     those streets, courts and other passages which shall be laid out
     and opened by order of the inspectors of the jail, on any of the
     city lots granted by the Commonwealth, by an act, entitled, an
     act to direct the sale of certain unimproved lots, the property
     of this Commonwealth, in the city of Philadelphia, and to
     appropriate the proceeds thereof towards the erection of a
     building for the purpose of more completely carrying into effect
     the penal laws of this state; and also all those streets,
     alleys, courts and lanes which shall hereafter be laid out,
     opened and appropriated to public use by private persons:
     Provided the same be not less than twenty feet wide, shall, to
     all intents and purposes, be held, deemed, taken and be
     highways, as fully and completely, according to their extent, as
     any highways laid out by order of the court of quarter-sessions
     of any county within this Commonwealth.
        Section 5.  Laying with broken stone or graveling streets;
     owner's duties respecting footways
        The select and common councils of the said city shall be
     authorized to make all ordinances which they shall judge useful
     or necessary for the forming, laying with broken stone or
     graveling any of the streets, alleys, courts or lanes within the
     said city, which shall at any time by them be judged improper to
     order to be paved, and whenever the cart way of any such street,
     court or other passage shall be regulated, shaped and formed or
     when so formed and laid with gravel or other hard substances, in
     either of those cases the owners of the several lots which are
     bounded upon or adjoining any such street, court or other
     passage shall be obliged for form or shape, or lay with hard
     substances or gravel, the respective footways opposite to their
     several lots, in such manner, at such time and under such
     penalties as shall be directed by the said ordinances.  1805,
     March 25, p.l. 160, 4 sm. L. 232, sec. 5.
        Section 6.  Powers, etc. , as to street ends extending into
     Schuylkill
        The corporation of the said city shall be invested with all
     and singular the powers and authorities, jurisdictions, rights
     and immunities in, to and over the ends of each and every public
     street or alley, which extends to or into the river Schuylkill,
     as fully to all intents and purposes, and to the like uses, as
     by the said charter, or any law of this Commonwealth, is or are
     granted to the former or present corporation of the said city,
     respecting the east ends of the several streets, which extend to
     or into the River Delaware.  1805, March 25, p.l. 160, 4 sm. L.
     232, sec. 6.
        Section 7.  Port warden to determine extent to which wharves
     may be built into River Schuylkill
        The wardens of the Port of Philadelphia Jurisdiction now
     vested in the department of wharves, docks and ferries shall be
     authorized and empowered to fix and determine the extent of
     distance which any person or persons or body or bodies, politic
     or corporate, who are the owner or owners of lots of ground
     extending to the said River Schuylkill, on either of its shores,
     from the lower falls thereof to its junction with the River
     Delaware, may build wharves therein.  1805, March 25, P.L. 160,
     4 sm. L. 232, sec. 7.
        Section 8.  Penalty for building without license
        That if any owner or owners of any lot or lots of ground
     extending into the River Schuylkill, from the lower falls
     thereof to its junction with the River Delaware, shall build any
     wharf, house, store or other building, further into the said
     river than to common low-water mark, without license first had
     and obtained from the said wardens, or further into the said
     river than may be permitted by such license, he, she, or they
     being legally convicted of the same shall pay a fine of one
     thousand dollars, to be recovered with costs as debts of the
     same amount are or may be by law recoverable; one-half of which
     fine shall be paid to the guardians or Overseers of the poor of
     the city, district, or township where such wharf or building
     shall be erected, and the other half to the person or persons
     who shall sue for and recover the same.  1805, March 25, P.L.
     160, 4 sm. l. 232, sec. 8.
        Section 9.  Building fences beyond certain point prohibited;
     penalty
        If any person or persons shall erect or make any fence beyond
     the common low-water mark into the said river, without license
     first had and obtained from the said wardens, he, she, or they
     being legally convicted of the same, shall for every such
     offense forfeit and pay a fine not exceeding twenty dollars, to
     be recovered with costs as debts of the same amount are or may
     be by law recoverable; one-half of which fine shall be paid to
     the Overseers or guardians of the poor of the city, district, or
     township as aforesaid, and the other half to the person or
     persons who shall sue for and recover the same.  1805, March 25,
     P.L. 160, 4 sm.l. 232, sec. 9.