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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The poles were in his favor, but Rick Lombardo took them down to settle a dispute with the city over a fence he was going to install on his property abutting Burns Alley in the Parsons neighborhood.</p><p>The deal in the works provides compensation for land the city will take through eminent domain and grants Lombardo an easement for access to the rear of his property on Scott Street where he runs a tent business.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not putting up a fence,&#8221; Lombardo said Monday.</p><p>The metal poles came down Friday when both sides met more than a month after the city issued Lombardo a notice to stop work on the project to put a chain-link fence in the alley. Neighbors had presented a petition to City Hall with their concerns that the fence would limit access to their garages. They also worried if emergency vehicles would fit in the alley with a fence in place.</p><p>Lombardo, 57, took out a permit for the fence that was going to secure the former fire house and surrounding property he bought in 2010. He said he had more than $45,000 of personal property stolen in two separate thefts.</p><p>City council passed a resolution July 13 authorizing the use of eminent domain. The city later filed a declaration of taking in Luzerne County Court and hired an expert to prepare an &#8220;opinion of value&#8221; for the 2,112 square feet of land it will take from Lombardo, said city attorney Tim Henry.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re very happy that the poles came out,&#8221; Henry said.</p><p>The city was going to fill the holes for the poles in the alley. On the other side of his property, the plan is to put down gravel for the easement on land that runs along a baseball field and park, Lombardo said.</p><p>&#8220;I can get in my property better,&#8221; he said of the easement, explaining he won&#8217;t have to deal with oncoming traffic in the alley.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Rick Lombardo has removed the posts he put up for a planned fence along his property in the Parsons section of Wilkes-Barre. In a deal struck with the city, he will instead get an easement to city-owned land along the other side of the former fire house he owns on Scott Street. The easement will allow Lombardo better access, he says. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_Rick-Lombardo-cropped-cmyk.jpg</photo0><caption0>Rick Lombardo has removed the posts he put up for a planned fence along his property in the Parsons section of Wilkes-Barre. In a deal struck with the city, he will instead get an easement to city-owned land along the other side of the former fire house he owns on Scott Street. The easement will allow Lombardo better access, he says. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Easement ends dispute over fence in WB alley