It was preserved forever, yet now a small tract of farmland that measures 0.3 acres is on the verge of being condemned and built upon, and West Chester lawyer James Tupitza is in the middle of the fight against it.

At issue is a sliver of land that would become a turning lane into Lancaster County’s proposed new Oregon Village Center, a 75-acre multi-purpose development by Oregon Dairy’s Hurst family, according to a Philadelphia Inquirer report by Michaelle Bond.

“I don’t really believe the township would take the steps to do the condemnation, because I don’t believe they want to start a war,” Tupitza said. “Can a municipality condemn private property that’s subject to a conservation easement for the purpose of making that property available for private development?”

It’s the principle of the condemnation that’s problematic. Despite the Hursts’ offer to preserve other land in exchange, the family has twice been denied an amendment by the Lancaster Farmland Trust because of the project’s private purpose.

Alongside 565 houses or apartment units, “the project would include 53,400 square feet of retail space, a 70,000-square-foot supermarket, a new restaurant, a 120-room hotel, a bank, and a 450-seat banquet room,” the article explained.

Read more about the issue and Tupitza’s role in the legal fight in the Philadelphia Inquirer here.