BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Hotel Bethlehem may now have a “continuous and perpetual” easement on its parking area and exit lane just off Main Street, pending payment to the city’s Redevelopment Authority,
Both the city and Redevelopment Authority have claimed ownership of the parking area and exit lane, respectively, while the hotel has used both for business purposes for more than two decades.
Bethlehem City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the three-way, nearly $100,000 settlement agreement among the city, the Redevelopment Authority and Christmas City Hotel, which operates as Hotel Bethlehem.
Such a deal appears to have been years in the making.
“[The agreement] confirms and resolves existing usage of and access to portions of City and Redevelopment Authority properties for parking and vehicle access purposes in a location that experienced frequent transfers of ownership of multiple parcels during the urban renewal era of the mid-20th century.”City Solicitor John Spirk Jr.
As part of the agreement and as long as the hotel operates on site, Bethlehem Parking Authority also can’t use the frontage loading area along Main Street as one of its Smart Loading Zones.
And by July 15, BPA also must remove its nearby light pole camera used to monitor that area.
City solicitor John Spirk Jr. wrote that the settlement agreement “confirms and resolves existing usage of and access to portions of City and Redevelopment Authority properties for parking and vehicle access purposes in a location that experienced frequent transfers of ownership of multiple parcels during the urban renewal era of the mid-20th century.”
Adverse possession
Hotel officials say its parking area and exit lane have been used as such by their business for decades, essentially meeting state requirements for adverse possession.
Sometimes known as squatter’s rights, adverse possession simply means the hotel could become the legal owner of the land because of its continuous use of it over the years — even if the land happens to be owned by another entity.
The agreement states that the hotel had gone to the city and Redevelopment Authority on previous occasions to confirm such a move, especially to avoid related costs and publicity that could’ve come with the hotel filing for adverse possession or the city or RDA filing for ejectment.
In 2023, the hotel paid RDA a “good faith payment” of $4,250 as a kind of credit toward a potential broader deal.
